Evangelion: The Rite of Spring
by PhantomKino
Summary: After his mother's suicide, Shinji turned towards music for emotional support. Now, at a prestigious art school, Shinji discovers students traveling through surreal alternate universes and an organization believing God must die for the world to live...
1. Do You Like Your School, Shinji?

Chapter One: _Do You Like Your School, Shinji?_

* * *

><p>School.<p>

Art school.

_Prestigious_ art school.

Internationally prestigious art school.

Internationally prestigious art school, in Germany.

Shinji's school, The Zweite-Einschlag School of Fine Arts

The boy looked up, attempting to puzzle out the words carved into the marble walls of the main lobby. Even figuring out how to pronounce it would be nice, he thought. It was fitting, an alien language in this new, alien world. He pulled his cello onto his back and repositioned the suitcases under his arms. The campus was beautiful, and apparently very old. For someone who had spent his whole life in Japan, the wide open spaces and practically enormous buildings seemed close to ridiculous. However, Shinji was happy to be here. Thrilled. He worked unbelievably hard for the opportunity to study music here, and by some bizarre, impossible chance his father was allowing it. That alone was enough to put a spring in his step.

"_Das Glück suchen wir, das Unglück sucht uns._"

Shinji dropped dropped his bags in panic at the sudden voice breaking the silence. He turned to see a smiling, silver-haired boy wearing casual clothes. Shinji's knowledge of German remained minimal, even after a summer of study, so he remained silent.

The boy let out a light chuckle and switched his tongue to an accented English. "'We seek good fortune, misfortune seeks us.' The school's saying. On the wall. You were looking at it, were you not?"

Shinji nodded, nervous around an unknown person. "O-Oh. That seems slightly dark, doesn't it?" The strange boy shrugged, and gestured toward the bundle on Shinji's back.

"Musician?"

"Yes..."

"This way. Come. Your housing is near mine."

Once more Shinji began to struggle with his bags, when the stranger took notice and lightened his load. Shinji quickly nodded his thanks.

It was crisp and cool outside for early Autumn, but the leaves had not yet begun to turn. Shinji looked around at all the gorgeous oaks and maples; the campus would certainly be a beautiful sight when they did. The little cobblestone path he was walking down with his acquaintance led to a large central fountain, beyond which lay a series of two-story blue-roofed dormitories.

The paled boy turned to Shinji. "The one next to the far right- do you see? It's next to the garden- you'll stay there for the music department."

"T-thank you."

The stranger glanced back at the clock tower on the main building. "I'm sorry, can you take the bags from here? I have a class soon."

"Oh, it's fine!" Shinji confirmed, just a little to readily. He did not dislike the boy in front of him, but the last thing he wanted in this new, strange place was the company of others. He needed time to himself, to get over the scariness of his new situation. However, he was still worried about making a fool of himself or forgetting something crucial. As the boy began to walk away, Shinji shouted, "Wait, hold up! Is there anything else I should know? Hazing? Things to avoid? Bedbugs?"

The boy paused in thought for a minute. "Between you and me," he murmured, "watch out for the angels."

"The angels?"

A chime sounded in the distance. "I'm sorry. I really do have to go now." the boy ran off leaving Shinji to drag his luggage up to his new room.

As he unpacked, he could not help but wonder.

"What angels?"

* * *

><p>Shinji stood in front of the mahogany door. This was it, he thought, time to face the fire. He hoped he would be alone in his new room. With a click of the knob he opened the door and immediately regretted it when a shrieking mass of green feathers flew at his face, seemingly trying to claw his eyes out. he screamed and ran.<p>

"No!" shouted a voice, "Bad parrot! Very very bad!"

Shinji managed the shield himself from the berserker bird with his cello, although he's really rather not use the 1200 dollar instrument as a weapon. "What the f_ck is this!"

He heard frantic footsteps running down the hall after him and the bird.

"Damnit! I'm _so_ sorry! _Cease fire!_"

The furious squawking stopped. Shinji slowly lowered his makeshift shield and got a good look at the boy in front of him. He was wearing the seemingly-standard blue and white uniform he's seen on a few other students and held what appeared to be a broadsword in his right hand. He had messy blond hair pulled into a sort ponytail, and appeared to be roughly half a head taller than Shinji. The demon parrot was perched on his left shoulder. Shinji could have sworn it had glowing red demon eyes. "Hi," squeaked Shinji. The parrot glared at him.

The blond boy looked flustered. "Okay. You have _absolutely no idea_ how sorry I am about that. I should totally know better by this point."

There were a few seconds of uncomfortable silence between the two of them as they sized each other up. Shinji's gaze kept drifting back to the rather threatening sword. The boy followed the Shinji's gaze. "Oh... crap. Um. I don't have a sword. It's not there. Really, long story. But You're not looking at a sword." He quickly tossed it behind him, where it landed on the floor with a metallic clang. "Oh dear. That was a loud noise. I wonder what it was? I'm Alois. You have a cello. I have a parrot. Hi."

Shinji began to back away.

"Hey, are you the new boy? You don't have a uniform."

"I-I'm Shinji Ikari."

A grin spread across the boy's face. "Excellent! You're my roommate! Come on, I'll help you with your stuff."

* * *

><p>"So," began Alois, forcing his parrot into a cage, "Are you from Korea or something? Your name and accent I mean. I'm from France... everyone at this school knows English, though. Headmaster Langley thought there needed to be a mediator language so everyone could communicate easier."<p>

Shinji nodded "O-okay. And I'm from Japan, actually. Don't confuse them. It's _not_ a good idea, if you ever go there."

"Oops. Sorry. Want some tea?"

"Sure."

Alois walked over towards the tiny kitchen area, giving Shinji a chance to look at their room. The blue and white color scheme matched everything else he could see at the school. There were two beds, and across from them two open glass windows that overlooked a small garden outside. He saw a door leading presumably to a small closet, with a Labyrinth poster on it. Sounding boards hung from the walls to improve the acoustics for practicing, and behind the music stand lay four closed instrument cases and a CD rack. Shinji admitted to the niceness of the room, but wished he didn't have a partially craze roommate. He wondered what department the silver-haired boy from before was in, and figured if he had to be around people then he was the safer option.

Shinji noticed a small statue on the table by the sofa he was sitting on. An angel. He recalled the other boy's cryptic warning and returned to puzzling over it. A phone rang, playing a section from the Tallis cannon. "_Bonjour_?" he heard Alois answer in the next room over, "_Oui. Je me demande pardon_. I'll be right there." He rushed back into the main room and pulled on his blazer. "Sorry, Shinji. I have to go help my girlfriend with something."

"Your... girlfriend?"

He nodded. "I'll be a while, I'm afraid. Supper's held in the main dining hall in about an hour- I'll see you there, I think." He ran to the door. "Oh, and would you mind feeding Alistair?"

"Alistair?" The demon parrot cried out, and Shinji froze in a brief moment of fear. "I... I will try."

"Thanks!" The door slammed behind him.

Shinji's uneasiness in regards to his new roommate remained as he unpacked.

Although part of it may have come from being watched by a demon parrot.

* * *

><p>Shinji attempted to ignore the feathered fiend staring him down from the corner of the main room. He wished his bizarre roommate could have had a cute penguin or something instead. Without knowing anyone, let alone his way around campus, Shinji was left with nothing to do but practice his cello and puzzle over the 'angels.' He hadn't yet been given any music to learn, so he decided to stick with his favorite piece; the one he used for his audition to get accepted into the Zweite-Einschlag School. Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 was the first piec he was ever truly proud of learning to play, even though the accomplishment didn't give him the result he wanted.<p>

Shinji's memory was hazy as to the exact time, but he must have been somewhere around six or seven years old when his father made one of his rare visits to his son. The one night he was there, Shinji's father took him to a concert, likely because it was a possible 'social event' that would not involve either actually speaking to the other.

Despite having started playing the cello about a year previously, although he was hailed as somewhat of a prodigy, the young Shinji soon grew bored, and his father seemed just as disinterested. However, the piece before the intermission caught his interest. Shinji was dazzled by the woman playing the cello; her perfect position and obvious passion shone obviously, and the noted that came from her instrument were nothing short of miraculous. His father showed no reaction, but at the end of the song, when the audience began to chatter and leave their seats for the fancy hors d'oeuvres in the lobby, he finally spoke.

"I liked that piece."

It was the only thing Shinji's father said to him in years.

A knock on the door shook Shinji from his musical reverie. He looked, up vaguely startled.

He heard the knock again, three times in quick succession. "Is Mr. Ikari here?" called a woman's voice. Shinji really did not want to answer. "I have a package for Mr. Ikari." Shinji shifted uncomfortably and moved to get the door, laying his cello on its side with extreme care.

"Yes?" he muttered to the women in the hallway. She was young and round-faced, with short, boyish brown hair and dark eyes.

"A delivery from Dr. Akagi, the department head," she informed him, smiling and pushing a rectangular box into his hands. "Your books and uniform, I believe."

"T-thank you, ma'am." he shut the door softly, and got some scissors to cut open the box with.

The uniform matched that of Alois and some of the other students, so at least he wouldn't stand out to such an extent anymore.

He put on the new clothes and studied himself in the mirror. This new uniform looked so very western to him, and would have looked old fashioned to almost anyone. He wore white dress pants with a long-sleeved white shirt. Over that went a light blue blazer with stripes of white trimming, and a sort of modernized short white cravat around the collar. The new clothes felt a little stiff, and very alien.

Bells began to chime in the clock tower.

"Oh! Dinner!" Shinji attempted to smooth down his hair for a few seconds before rushing off the the dining hall in the main part of the campus.

* * *

><p>The moment he stepped into the building, Shinji was blinded by a flash of white light. He yelped in surprise, jumped back, and promptly tripped on a stone lying just outside the door. He heard her mad laughter and felt her foot on his chest pinning him down, before he could see his assailant. He could almost make out the outline of a figure when he heard a click and was blinded again.<p>

"Asuka!" someone yelled, "Leave the new kid alone!" At least whoever it was stepped off of him.

Shinji heard more mad laughter from above, and blinked a few times to clear his vision. When he could finally see, what he saw was an almost comically large camera lens in front of his face. He slowly began to raise himself, grumbling.

"Hey!" shouted the girl's voice above him, "Stay down and let me get one more shot!" he was kicked to the ground, once more being stood one and rendered unable to see. "There!"

Shinji blearily opened his eyes for what he hoped to be the final time, and saw that he had an excellent view up the skirt of a redhead. "Panties... ARGH!" he murmured, and then yelled as he was kicked in the head.

"_Come on_, Asuka! Give it up."

The redhead growled. "But he must pay! Oh... must he pay..."

Shinji tried to defend himself. "Well, it was your fault."

"Don't you start!" she shouted. She then stormed off back into the dining hall and began furiously chewing her beans. It takes a special talent to make the act of eating beans seem angry and threatening. She had it.

Someone reached out a hand to Shinji, which he gratefully accepted, and pulled him up. "Well," began the man, "I see you've met the 'princess' of Zweite-Einschlag."

Shinji studied the older man, who he assumed was a teacher. The stubble on his chin and long dark ponytail made him look more rugged or athletic than artistic, though. "The... princess?" Shinji groaned. "Please tell me that's a sarcastic title."

The man laughed. "Well... yes an no. Now don't get me wrong; her personality sure isn't a beauty, but she _is_ the headmaster's daughter."

"O-Oh."

The man playfully elbowed Shinji in the ribs. "And besides, if I was closer to your age, I'd be ready to tap looks like that."

Shinji felt a very red blush form on his cheeks.

"I'm Mr. Ryogi, Dean of Student Life. Feel free so come to my office if you have any questions." He winked at Shinji and walked towards the now completely dark outer area of the campus, where the faculty offices lay. Shinji turned to the open doorway, hoping to finally get some food, when he heard the Dean's voice call back to him.

"Keep on the lookout for angels, kid!"


	2. Can You Have Friends, Shinji?

Chapter 2: _Can You Have Friends, Shinji?_

* * *

><p>"Hey! Shinji!"<p>

Shinji turned to see Alois sitting at one of the dining hall's and waving at him wildly. There were green and blue paint splatters in his hair. Shinji didn't really want to sit next to him; it wouldn't do any good to be looped in with the weirdos and losers on his first day. He pretended to look around with a confused expression, and then, satisfied, found a small empty table to sit at. The warm food was welcome and he started to drift off into a daydream when motion startled. him. Alois and another boy he didn't recognize plopped their trays down next to him. "Jeez..." Alois murmured, shaking his head, "Are you blind or something? Deaf? We weren't exactly being subtle over there. Anyway, what's up?"

Shinji felt slightly guilty. "Oh. Um. Nothing, really." He looked away. "Er. I got my uniform."

"That's just a little obvious."

"Sorry."

Alois sighed and stretched back on his chair, making it lean on the back two legs. "Oh." He sat back up and gestured to the boy next to him. "This is my friend Drake."

"Hey," said Drake, giving Shinji a little half-hearted wave. Drake was dark-skinned with cropped, curly back hair and dark brown eyes. There was a stack of American comic books lying next to him; Shinji recognized the reversed printing. "So you're the new music guy?"

"Yeah. I play the cello."

Alois sensed his friend's conversation growing dull. "And it's a good thing too! After Adrian and Albert vanished, we're short a cello. There are still only four basses though, so you may have to play their part some of the time-"

"Wait," cut in Shinji, "What do you mean they 'vanished?'"

Alois shifted uncombortably. "Well, I say 'vanished' but I pretty sure their parents just took them out of school. Didn't know either of 'em too well; they just left."

"Oh." So nothing to do with the 'angels' or whatever?"

The boys laughed. "Nah. That's just an old joke. Where'd you hear it anyway?" asked Alois.

"Well... just from some guy." It's true that the teacher he met said it in a funny way, but the boy from earlier had a tone to his voice that seemed like a warning. He wanted to ask more, but didn't want to seem foolish.

Drake, however, seemed to read his mind. "It's from those creepy angel statues on the roof of the main hall. Did you see them?"

"No..."

"Well, no one ever looks up. Check them out later, though. It's sort of the school joke that every time your work or book goes missing, the angel's stole it. Not sure how it started." He pause for a second, thinking. "Guess it's sort of like our weird version of the 'dog ate my homework' excuse," he laughed.

Shinji tried to show a smile. "Where I'm from, the expression's 'spirited away.'"

Both boys jumps as Alois practically jumped on the table, and grabbed and turned both their heads to the western window. "Their she is!" He shouted.

Shinji ducked his head out the the grip. "Who?"

Drake just sighed, exasperated. "Dude... you have a girlfriend. Don't think about it. And let go and get off; people are staring."

"Oops." Alois leaned towards Shinji and began to whisper. "See that girl, walking by the window?" Shinji looked out through the corner of his eye.

"Pale girl?" he asked.

"Yeah her. That's Rei Ayanami- head girl in the dance department..." He chuckled to himself. "Man, is she hot stuff..."

The girl disappeared in the direction of the dorms. "Isn't she going to eat?" wondered Shinji.

"Nah. Not her," Alois sighed, "She's too good to eat with common mortals. And I don't mean that sarcastically."

Drake grabbed his friends shoulder and pulled him away from Shinji. "Okay, you creeper. She's a babe, but you don't know anything about her. It's been getting ridiculous lately."

"Do I seriously need to?"

Drake buried his face in his hands. "You have a hot girlfriend!" Shinji agreed with Drake, even though he didn't know the details of the conversation. he wouldn't mind a girlfriend, but doubted anyone at Zweite-Einschlag would be interested in the dorky new guy.

Alois playfully boxed Drake in the shoulder. "But you gotta admit, she barely comes close compared to Rei."

"Hm."

"And she's not by any stretch of the imagination the shy, girly type like a ballerina would be," he continued.

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty certain, at this point. And besides, Rei's always in those little ballet dresses, and she definitely had the body for it."

"But _don't you think_ Mari would _too?_"

Alois shook his head. "Not as well. Besides, Mari is-" He stopped. "She's right behind me, isn't she?"

"Why, you _cheese-eating surrender monkey!_" shouted a furious brown-haired girl. Shinji decided it was time to leave. "I am The Illustrious Mari, and I will not tolerate such talk behind my_back!_" She gripped the blond boy in a chokehold.

"Shinji! Help me!"

"And the _only reason_ I can't fit into those stupid little tutus-" She began, as she pulled her struggling boyfriend away from the dinner table, "-is because by breasts are _too big!_"

"I'm sorry! I love you, Mari! I'm sorry!"

Her glasses flashed white, obscuring her green eyes. "Are you now?"

Alois sighed and slumped to the floor. "Yeah. I am."

"Excellent!" she yipped, galloping over to Shinji. "And who are you?"

Shinji shrunk away from the strange girl, stuttering. "I-I'm-um-" It was hard to concentrate where their noses were practically touching.

"This is my new best friend Shinji!" shouted Alois, pouncing on the vulnerable Japanese boy and knocking him off his chair. Drake pouted and stuck out his tongue indignantly.

If people were not staring before, Shinji knew they certainly were now. "Alois... c-can you get off?"

"I don't wanna."

They both yelped as camera-girl Asuka appeared again, the flash once again blocking all other vision. "Oh man..." she muttered, the eagerness dripping from her voice, "This is _excellent_."

"Hey hey, Princess," cautioned Drake, "You don't hang out with us. You don't like us. No pictures."

Asuka snapped another picture as Mari helped Shinji and Alois up out of their awkward position. "Well _I'm_ the one who takes photography _and_ Daddy runs the school," she huffed, "I can do_whatever I want!_"

Shinji rubbed the blue after-flash from his eyes. He _did not_ like girls like that. He also sort of wanted to impress the boys he guessed were his 'friends' by default now. "Look, Asuka" he began, and suddenly began to regret it when he saw a look on her face that he had, until that point, only seen on demon parrot Alistair.

"Yeah, new boy?" she sneered.

"W-well," the tiny burst of courage was gone.

"Hmph. Not worth the time." She turned to strut away, swinging her hips back and forth for extra punctuation.

"Don't you tell me... don't you _dare_ tell me that I'm 'not worth the time.'"

Alois was surprised by his friend's dramatic change of tone. Shinji was standing straight, eyes downcast and fists clenched hard enough to turn his knuckles white. He took a deep breath and ran up to Asuka, sharply grabbing her shoulder. She cried out and whipped her head to face her assailant. She sneered. "What do _you_ want?"

"I'm Shinji Ikari."

"I already _know_ that!"

"I've been through a lot."

She glowered at him.

"I worked _so hard_ to get into this school, and to get away from my father's influence," he continued.

"So? Everyone works they're asses off to get into Zweite-Einschlag."

"From what I hear and what I've seen, you didn't."

"Jealous?" she teased, a smirk turning up the corner of her mouth.

"I wish..." Shinji felt the calm strength that had taken over him slip away. "I- I wish-" Asuka smiled. Shinji sunk to his knees, trying to regain his anger, his power. "I- I..." Asuka laughed mockingly and strutted out of the dining hall.

For a while, Shinji was still.

For a while, _everyone _was still.

Shinji felt a hand on his shoulder. Alois gave him a quick, reassuring squeeze and bent down to Shinji's ear. "It's okay," he whispered. "Let's go back to our room." Shinji faintly nodded his agreement. He let Alois help him up, and the two of them followed in the direction Asuka left just before.

* * *

><p>The two boys were greeted by deafening screeching as they opened the door to their shared dorm. "Cease fire, Alistair!" shouted Alois. The calls stopped, but continued to ring in their ears. "I promise she'll warm up to you," he assured Shinji. Alois was met with a very skeptical look. The French boy sighed and fell on his bed, folding his arms behind his head and staring at the ceiling. "I'm serious, though. Sh just gets bored and throws a tantrum from time to time. Most people just ignore her."<br>Shinji sat himself next to his friend.  
>"Really," continued Alois, "I think I've only ever seen her hand out with that other photography girl, Hikari. She and Dean Ryoji seem to have some sort of connection, though. Wonder what's going on there."<br>Shinji just nodded.  
>"Do you want to hear me play?" asked Alois.<br>The other boy just looked confused.  
>"My viola, I mean. You haven't heard me play." A grin spread across his face. "I'm first chair in the section for a reason you know."<br>Shinji shrugged. "Sure."  
>"Excellent!" With a newfound energy he bounded off the bed and unclicked the nearest case. After a quick application of rosin on the bow and the snap of a shoulder rest, he turned to Shinji. "Do you know much of Mendelssohn's work?"<br>"A little."

Alois smiled. "Good! We're playing _Die erste Walpurgisnacht _with the choir. Now I know it isn't my job, but I memorized the cello melody, too. Get yours out and I'll show you some easier fingering I figured out for the seventh-position section..."


	3. Will You Ever Accept Your Life, Shinji?

Chapter Three: _Will You Ever Accept Your Life, Shinji?_

* * *

><p>"Go~od mornin', good mornin'," sang Shinji's roommate, rousing him from perhaps the two hours' worth of sleep he'd got. The two of them spent the majority of the night before comparing musical skills.<p>

Demon parrot Alistair echoed Alois's voice in "squawk" form as the teenager pranced around the room singing.

"...we've talked the whole night through so go~od mornin', good mornin', to you!"

Shinji laughed a little. "And now I see why you're not in the choir."

Alois feigned an expression of hurt. "Don't trash me like that, Shinji! Gene Kelly is my idol!" He opened his parrot's cage to hand it breakfast, and it miraculously did not attack him. It did, however, make a few more demon squeals before digging in.

"So... do we have classes on the weekend?" asked Shinji.

Alois fist-pumped the air above him. "Nah. Today's Saturday, we have a full day of freedom!"

"Hm..." Part of Shinji hoped nothing else eventful would happen to him today, after dinner the night before.

Alois was beaming with excitement. "I have the whole day planned out! We can-" he was interrupted by the his ringing phone, blaring the Tallis Canon through bad speakers. "Ahem. Just a sec."

Shinji sighed and walked over to the window overlooking the garden. It was a nice day; perfect for checking out the campus and doing a walkthrough of his new schedule...

"Breaking news!" shouted Alois, interrupting Shinji's calm once again, "That old hag of a teacher that watches the girl's dorms called in sick today! I'm abandoning you in favor of Mari, Shinji. I have a limited window of opportunity here. See ya!" He galloped across the room to the exit.

"Hey, wai-" The door slammed shut.

I'll just try not to get lost as I walk around, Shinji thought.

* * *

><p>Shinji decided the garden would be a fine place to start his self-guided tour. There were not many flowers blooming, but scattered here and there were a few star-shaped white flowers. Ivy covered the oaks surrounding the small, green area, and a gold-yellow light filtered through the leaves that rustled with a pleasant sound in the light breeze. The autumn air felt fresh and crisp. Shinji was happy this gorgeous little spot was so close to his dorms. He sat on a low stone bench facing a small <em>shishi-odoshi<em> bamboo fountain in the center of the little garden, which reminded him a bit of home. He watched as the little bamboo cup slowly filled with water, tipped and dumped its contents, and popped up for the process to be repeated. The constant motion was almost hypnotic, especially when he was so tired. Shinji felt his eyelids droop. The tiny bench was to uncomfortable to sleep on, so he stepped down and repositioned himself under an oak a few feet away, resting his head on a moss-covered root bulge. So much for exploring, he thought, as he drifted off into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>He was on a train, listening to his music player. there was no one else. There was probably no conductor, even. Shinji knew this was <em>his<em> train, and he had been here many times before. Black light flashed in the windows, alternating with the white shadow. He assumed the tarin was moving, but didn't really know.

Don't run away, Shinji.

Was dreaming running away?

You mustn't run away.

"I mustn't run away," he murmured.

"No, Shinji."

Shinji jumped at the unfamiliar female voice, and smiled as he slowly remembered who it was. He looked at the flashing window and watched his memory through it, although he could barely hear over the sound of the train.

"Will you promise me something, Shinji?" said the woman, smiling warmly as she kneeled down to face her young son.

"Yes, Mama!" the small boy assured.

She reached out and petted his head. "If you ever... If you're ever scared, if there's ever something that could hurt you-"

"Don't worry, Mama! I can protect myself!"

"No." Her voice had taken on a new quality, soft and concerned. "Shinji, if there's ever something dangerous, don't be brave. You just run away, Shinji. Just run." She stood back up, caressing his cheek softly like only a mother could.

Shinji did not want to watch what happened next. It had been a very long time since he'd last had this dream, and even longer since the actual events, but he did not want to see this again. As the train he sat on grew louder and faster, tracks and train sounds also appeared in the memory of little Shinji.

The real Shinji couldn't tear his gaze from the window, no matter how much he wanted to.

"Why are you telling me, Mama?"

She frowned. "I've discovered something, Shinji. Something important, but I can't deal with it here."

"But-"

"Goodbye, Shinji." She stepped back onto the train tracks.

"Mama!" cried the little Shinji.

This was it. Shinji managed to tear his gaze away from the memory-window, just in time to hear another train pass and a scream from his younger self. Shinji kept his eyes shut tight.

"Shinji?" His mother's voice. Now she was sitting across from him. In his train. He didn't remember this happening before. "I'm sorry I could never tell you why."

Shinji shook his head violently, eyes still shut.

"Someday you'll have to figure it out yourself, Shinji."

"No!"

The train horn blew, the noise in the dream reaching unbearable levels.

White light flooded his vision, and Shinji's eyelids fluttered as he returned to the waking world.

* * *

><p>"Jeez, you must have been tired," muttered Drake, the boy Shinji recognized from dinner the night before, "I mean, you really don't look comfortable."<p>

Shinji rubbed his eyes. "Oh. Um. Yeah. I- I didn't really get much sleep last night." He noticed the large drawing pad in the other boy's arms. "Er. Were you sketching something?"

"Yeah. Just something for a painting I want to do."

"Could I see?"

Drake clutched the drawing pad closer to himself, hiding it. "I'd rather you not- I'm kinda failing at this assignment."

"Oh. Okay." Shinji really wanted to get along with Drake, and he knew the current awkwardness was not helping him in his regard. "I didn't know you took painting. I sorta assumed music, you know, since you hang out with Alois and all."

Drake laughed. "I actually wanted to take music, you know. But I looked at the curriculum and decided not to."

"Why?"

"Well... It was mostly classical. I don't really like classical. Ideally, I want to be a guitarist, but apparently everyone thinks I'm better at painting. I'm supposed to be doing something in the style of Degas now. It's kinda hard..."

Shinji recognized the name. "The guy who painted ballerinas, right?"

Drake nodded. "Yeah. Horses too. His main goal was capturing motion is as little strokes as possible. It's kinda hard for me; I've got a super different style."

"Then why're you drawing here? Shouldn't you be sketching while watching the dance class or something?"

"Saturday. No one'll be there." Drake paused for a bit. "Well, Rei Ayanami would- practicing her dance is the only thing she does, you know?- but that would be... awkward."

"O-Oh. The girl with the blue hair who Alois likes?"

The other boy laughed. "He doesn't like her- he just wants to bang her. Who could blame him, really? And where is he?"

Shinji turned a deep pink in the face. "I-I think he's 'spending time' with Mari... um..."

Drake growled. "Argh! Damn French brat! Hmph." He gathered his sketching materials and jumped up from the bench, grabbing Shinji's wrist and dragging him along.

Shinji gave a brief shout of surprise. "Huh? Where're we going?"

He turned back to Shinji, "You're single too, right? We're gonna go stalk Rei, dammit!" Shinji gave him a look. "Draw. Draw Rei. Heh."

* * *

><p>Shinji looked up in awe at the grand building towering over him. The design seemed to be based off a cathedral. There were two large stained-glass windows on the front of the building featuring glass designs of Odette and Odile from Swan Lake and a central, smaller window above the door with a swan and raven. Shinji had played some of the pieces from the ballet on his cello, but never seen it. The walls were some sort of gray-white stone with accents of black marble around the doors and windows. A large spire, covered in the same blue shingles as the rest of the roofs on campus, rose from the center of the building and cast a shadow down on two boys preparing to enter.<p>

"Um," muttered Shinji, "any reason they need this big a building?"

"Doubles as a theater," answered Drake, pushing open the big oak doors, "And normally everyone goes through the side doors straight to the classrooms, but I thought you'd like to see this..."

Shinji did not know what he expected from the theater, but certainly not what lay before him. Although the outside seemed like a cathedral, the inside was more like a grand Arabian mosque. Standing beneath the balcony, Shinji looked up to see a sparkling gold ceiling with stained glass six-pointed stars, each with an ornate lantern hanging from the center. Red carpet covered the ground beneath his feet, matching the red of the seats.

"Pretty awesome, huh?" chuckled Drake, playfully boxing Shinji's shoulder. "And that's not the half of it. You can't see a thing from under the balcony. Just keep looking up and walk forward."

Shinji's eyes widened. "Wow..." The ceiling was painted and lit a bright sky blue, giving the illusion of an open, clear sky. Turrets and minarets led up into the artificial firmament, and ornate golden walls and arches lay between those, covering where the fake sky joined the rest of the theater. They almost reminded Shinji of something from a Prince of Persia game.

"When the performance is about to start," explained Drake, "a pipe organ rises from a trap door on the stage and plays some music from the show. Then he lights change, and the ceiling turns black with stars."

Shinji was awed. "That's... that's really cool. Why do they need something like this just for a school, though?"

"Oh, we're always renting it out to theater troupes passing through."

"Do we play here? The orchestra, I mean?"

Drake smiled. "Yup. Look forward to it. Where I used to live, in America, I mean, we actually had a theater a lot like this. I wonder who copied who-?" he was interrupted by a sudden burst of orchestral music, a fast-paced, solitary violin.

"Um," murmured Shinji, "S-should we leave?" Someone appeared on stage right. Shinji squinted to get a closer look. "I-is that Rei?"

"She's the prima ballerina; I wouldn't be surprised if they let her practice on the actual stage." Drake prepared his drawing pad. "Let's get closer."

They made their way to the row second from the front. Rei turned and looked at them one, showing no surprise, and continued her dance. She wore a cream-colored dress with a tutu skirt and V-shaped lace bodice. The ensemble was accented by small puffed sleeves and silver lacing in her hair.

The soft plucking of violins served as a background to the melody Rei danced to.

There were a few beats of soft steps and turns, followed by a quick pose on point and a glance from right to left every few measures. She looked out at the two boys and the imaginary remaineder of the audience for a fraction of a second, one arm above her head in an arc, and the other curved in front of her chest, before spinning and trotting on point in a circle around the stage.

Drake was furiously sketching some gesture drawings of her movements, but Shinji was mesmerized. She may have been emotionless, but her form was perfection.

Finishing her short trot to the back of the stage, Rei switching the pacing of her dance to the backing melody of the plucking strings. She stood on the toe of one pointed shoe, quickly kicking out with the lifted leg before gracefully stepping down and raising the former support leg before a quick leap. The move was repeated no less than fifteen times. Shinji could feel his toes hurt just watching.

"Rei?" called a male voice.

The ballerina looked up, but showed no surprise. She continued the dance, quickly crisscrossing her legs to hop in a dainty backwards trot. A silver-haired boy walked to her from stage left. Rei changed directions and took a few very quick, tiny steps before going to a spin. With a high glissando note from the lead violin she froze, looking to the sky with her right arm raised, the corresponding leg turned out and stretched behind her.

Shinji recognized the first boy he met the day before; silver hair, crimson eyes and all. He turned to the audience and noticed Shinji and Drake. He smiled, almost seeming amused. "I did not know you were to have an audience today, Rei." Like the day before, Shinji thought the boy's speech sounded a little flowery and formal. "I do wish you would inform me of these things."

Shinji stood up and half-bowed, forgetting this was not the standard apology in Europe. "We're sorry. Um. I just wanted to see the theater and-"

"Oh, do not worry," the boy assured, leaping from the stage and walked toward the audience of two. Drake was still busy with his art. "I approve, as long as Rei does not object. Rei?" He turned to face the ballerina.

"It's okay," she said softly, and returned to practicing the skip-kick point maneuver she used before, without the music.

The silver-haired boy returned his attention to the other two students. "I remember you from yesterday," he said to Shinji, "You are Shinji Ikari, correct?"

"I-I never told you my name..."

"I am Kaworu. Kaworu Nagisa." He held out his hand to Shinji. " I do hope we can get along."

Shinji nervously shook the offered hand, turning slightly pink.

Drake finally looked up from his drawing. "Er... hey, Kaworu."

Kaworu ignored him, continuing to address Shinji. "Rei and I are going to practice the first pas de deux from Swan Lake- I have the part of Siegfried in our production." He climbed over the front row of seats and back up onto the stage where Rei was holding a split, one leg stretched flat against her back while the other supported her tiptoe. Kaworu walked up to her, gently touching Rei's arm to support her balance. "Rei has the lead of Odette, as to be expected." He lifted her hand to his lips and softly kissed it. "You may keep observing, if you like, Shinji and Drake."

Shinji was once again burning a shade of pink. "Um, um, um-" Drake grabbed him and pulled his up from his chair.

"I'm done drawing. We'll take our leave, right Shinji?" He yanked the other boy into the aisle and jogged back to the door.

"Uh, yeah," agreed Shinji. As the large wood door shut behind them, Shinji heard the first few bars of music from Swan Lake begin to play.

* * *

><p>The two boys met up with Alois and Mari at the cafeteria for a quick lunch.<p>

"Oh, so you met Kaworu?" mumbled Alois through a mouthful of turkey-and-cheese sandwich. "Strange guy. Still don't know if he's gay or not."

"Alois!" chided Mari.

The blond boy shrugged. "Well, he does _ballet_."

Mari quickly boxed the back of her boyfriend's head, causing him to cough. "Sorry, sweetie. You're French, you don't have the right to criticize the apparent sexuality of other men."

"I take offense to that!"

"Not to mention you have a ponytail. And idolize old American Broadway stars."

Alois fumed. "Well don't tell me that you don't remember this morning in your dorm, _mon cherie_, when I-"

"Shut up."

Drake swirled around his salad with the handle of his fork. "He and Rei always sorta seemed like a couple to me."

Shinji quietly nodded his agreement, blushing yet again from Mari and Alois's short exchange.

"Ew!" shouted Mari, taking a violent bite from her sandwich. "No, just no. They're cousins, dude."

"Well that doesn't mean-"

Mari's glasses flashed at she pushed them higher up on her nose. "Now what kind of stuff have _you_ been watching, Drake?"

Shinji really, really wanted to hide under the table.

Alois took a long sip from his soda. "Well," he began matter-of-factly, "If _my_ cousin were that hot I'd-" He saw Mari's death glare. "-still resist the temptation," he finished, a little too quickly.

Oh God, thought Shinji, is it really normal to talk about stuff like this so openly here? He was feeling more and more out of place, ever since his confrontation with the redheaded Langley girl. He wondered if attending Zweite-Einshlag really was the best way to escape his father and his memories. Then again, Shinji wasn't sure how much longer he would have lasted back home.

"H-hey guys," said Shinji, gathering all his trash onto his tray to throw away, "I'm going to head back to my room to look over my sheet music some more. Um. Is that okay?"

"Sure!" said Alois, "I'll be there too, in a bit. He suddenly frowned. "Oh. But Alistair's not in his cage right now, so you might want to take a shield."

Shinji grimaced. He would walk around campus for a bit instead.

* * *

><p>It began to grow dark. It was noon. It should not have been growing dark.<p>

Shinji began to feel very, very uneasy. Although he had only been at Zweite-Einschlag for a day and a half, he knew there should have been a fountain where he was standing. Instead was a statue of an angel. Its big white wings stretched into the air, its face buried in its hands, weeping. Coils of stone hair curled down its back. Shinji gave the statue a wide berth as he walked around it. I must have gotten turned around at some point, he thought, this must be the side of the campus where the faculty buildings are.

Shinji changed his direction and ran off, possibly towards the student dorms. He could feel his heart beating a little faster. Something was... off.

"I mustn't run away," he gasped, slowing down his run. "I mustn't run away." He stopped and turned back to the statue, It didn't look any further away. Shinji's heart was racing, his eyes wide. The ground beneath him grumbled. It began to vibrate softly. Shinji held his ground, frantically looking for someone, someone to tell him what to do. The growl of the vibrating Earth deepened into a roar.

"I-I mustn't- I mustn't run away!" he shouted. It was now dark, the ground was shaking, flecks of soil hitting Shinji's frozen legs "Alois!" he yelled, "Alois! Help! Drake!" He collapsed to the ground, no longer able to stand. His voice broke. "H-help..."

A pink light flashed above his head, casting only enough light for Shinji to see a few feet around himself. There was no cobbled stone here, like everywhere else he had walked on the campus. The ground glistened with chips of black stone.

Shinji curled himself up into a ball in a feeble attempt at protection.

A few small plinking noises came from the spot of light, which exploded from a tiny dot into a roaring, flaming cross of light above his head. Shinji screamed and hid his face in his hands. Red lines of small fire traced a grid around the area, illuminating his surroundings.

He peeked through his fingers.

This was not Zweite-Einschlag.

This twisted, dark, Eldrich location was _not_ Zeite-Einschlag.

A low chant began, as the fire lines pulsed.

_Tenshi_

_Mal'ak_

_Tian shi_

_Maleaach_

_Aggelos_

_Ange_

_Engel_

**Angel**

* * *

><p>As a figure rose above him, Shinji once again screamed for help.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Important End of Chapter Notes:<strong>

From here on, this is where pictures and extra links pertaining to things in the text will be put. Zweite-Einshlag's theater is essentially a smaller version of the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta; a shot of the interior can be viewed here: h t t p : / / i 5 . p h o t o b u c k e t . c o m / a l b u m s / y 1 7 0 / h e k a w i / f o x _ i n t e r i o r . j p g (remove the spaces) Or, you can just look it up on google images.

Likewise, Rei's dance is the choreography from the first couple minutes of one of Aurora's solos from the Sleeping Beauty ballet. I've actually danced a simplified version myself, but here is a video of a professional performance: h t t p : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v = A R n E E I d z B n M (again, remove the spaces.)

Also, from here on out this story will be updated every Saturday, so if you enjoy it so far I'd recommend reviewing and/or putting it on your story alerts. Thank you for reading!


	4. Do You Believe in Angels, Shinji?

Chapter Four: _Do You Believe in Angels, Shinji?_

Shinji lay shivering on the ground, his knees clutched tightly to his chest. Even through tightly shut eyes the glow of cold, bright fire was all around him. Shinji whimpered as he felt something touch his leg. He thought he saw _something_ rise from the shadows, from behind the cross of fire, and in childish hope shut his eyes even tighter, hoping it would vanish.

The chant continued.

_Tenshi_

_Mal'ak_

_Tian shi_

_Maleaach_

_Aggelos_

_Ange_

_Engel_

**Angel**

* * *

><p>The chorus of raspy, whispering voices seemed to come out of nowhere. They did not exist, but they were.<p>

They were getting closer.

They were not going to kill him, Shinji knew this.

He knew the creature, the creatures, the voices would impale him, would tear him apart, would splinter his bones, cut his flesh, rip his muscles and pull his veins from his flesh while he still lived. The voices didn't have to tell him. But he could hear it.

Convulsions racked Shinji's body.

He wasn't in control.

He couldn't move.

He couldn't call out.

He couldn't breathe.

He felt a touch, and froze.

Something began to caress the back of his neck, as he shivered.

Shinji knew he had to move, had to open his eyes, had to _survive_, but this was terror. He had not experienced terror like this... ever.

The hands, the claws, the _things_ touching him, stroking him began to turn him over and uncurl his frozen but shivering body.

Shinji struggle to regain control of his own self. He wanted to open his eyes and stand and run. He began to struggle, ever so weakly.

There was a low rumble.

Liquid flooded over Shinji's body, sweeping away his attacker. Shinji knew this could be his only opportunity, and the hope led to some deep, untapped reserve of courage deep within him.

He opened his eyes and saw chaos. In the sky burned a Christian cross, a rotting corpse hanging from the center on a large fishhook. There was no sky; there was blackness, crisscrosses by a grid of crimson fire. Waves of water filled the air, the thick, chilling liquid floating and curling like disturbed candle smoke. Water covered the ground. Shinji struggled to stay afloat. Every few meters a waterfalls appeared, leading either up into eternity or down into nothingness. Rotting wooden crossed floated on the dark, dead ocean, and others stuck upright and stationary. In desperation, Shinji grabbed one of these and began to climb.

He was panting, gasping for air. His vision swam. Shinji managed to sit on an arm of the cross. He was still shaking all over. He vomited into the swirling water below. It took his last strength.

A shrill cry sounded in the distance. It was like an alarm, or tortured dying bird. The sound living stars made when they decayed and burst.

Shinji continued retching into the water, his stomach flipping even after there was nothing left to release. Fear was what gave him the ability to stay clinging to the cross. Fear of pain, of death.

The churning, roaring water grew still. the surface became smooth, unbreakable like glass. A clear mirror, reflecting the endless darkness and red fire of the sky.

A bubble rose to the surface, remaining a prefect pocket of air on the surface.

Shinji tensed up. He gripped the wood so tightly the skin on his hands turned white. He his eyes water up.

The little bubble grew slightly in size and began floating on the liquid glass.

The world was silent, save for Shinji's ragged breaths.

The bubble's motion stopped a few feet from Shinji's cross.

Now absolutely everything was still.

It popped.

The glass water shatters and spread as the creature burst from the water. Shinji's eyes widened, and he let loose a primal scream of the sort no human should ever have to use. The creature's torso alone was the size of a small house, scaled and twisted, its rotting ribs on the outside of its body. A pulsing red sphere was suspended on a column of water in a hole in its chest, protected by the ribs. At the waist the torso turned into velvet red curtain, held open by blackened skeletal hands to reveal a stage, decorated with only a while curtain. A shadow-play stage, Shinji would have realized, were he capable of thought. The shadows of inhuman figures appeared on the stage, their motions sweeping back and forth in a mad ritual dance.

The creature's head. Shinji couldn't bring himself to look at it. He couldn't.

The thing reached out with its "arms," thin black spikes with humanoid fingers on the end. As they grabbed him around the waist, Shinji felt himself go numb.

"Oh God..." he croaked, "Please... please... please, if there is a God..."

A mad cackle erupted from the beast as Shinji was lifted from his temporary safe haven. The chant returned.

_Tenshi_

_Mal'ak_

_Tian shi_

_Maleaach_

_Aggelos_

_Ange_

_Engel_

**Angel**

Shinji slumped in the grip of his captor. He gave up.

There was a loud crunch. Time began to move in slow motion.

Shinji looked down at the source of the sound. The red orb in the creature's chest cavity was beginning to unravel and disintegrate. In its center Shinji could just barely make out a barb of silver metal.

Slowly, the grip around his waist loosened. He fell down again, down into the water.

But this time there was no water.

Shinji felt himself land on something warm and soft.

A final dying shriek rose from the creature and its joints and supports liquefied, reducing the entire construct onto a squirming mass of bone and orange ooze. The whole body slowly began to turn to the same substance as the terrible beastly squeal continued to echo.

"Shinji... Ikari," said a girl's soft voice.

Shinji turned his head towards the soft ground, and found, instead of earth, the lips of Rei Ayanami. He was still shivvering. He wanted to get off her, but couldn't find any strength to move. He let himself collapse fully onto the pale girl.

A quiet sound of surprise escaped Rei's lips. She sat up, pushing Shinji off her. He wanted to thank her, but couldn't form the words. Rei leanded over by his side and held her cheek close to the lower part of his face, feeling for his breath on her skin.

"Shinji will recover," called a voice from the gloom. Kaworu walked into Shinji's view. A sword was swung over his shoulder, dripping the orange liquid from the fallen creature's carcass. "Sachiel was weaker than I expected. Shinji was not harmed."

The cross of light overhead faded into nothingness and was replaced by something akin to sunlight.

Kaworu smiled. "What did you think of the first Angel, Shinji?"

* * *

><p><strong>End Notes: <strong>This is a short chapter, yes, but I had it written and decided to go ahead and put it up. The next chapter will still be released Saturday, so no worries! Please review and favorite, if you like this so far!

Incidentally, some people may have guessed this, but_ Evangelion: The Rite of Spring_ draws heavily from the anime Mahou Shojo Madoka Magica. However, don't expect the twists and ideas from that show to affect this story in the same way. Thank you in advance for any reviews or feedback!


	5. Is It Okay To Be So Scared, Shinji?

Chapter Five: _Is It Okay To Be So Scared, Shinji? _

* * *

><p>Kaworu smiled. "What did you think of the first Angel, Shinji?"<p>

Shinji said nothing; he simply stared at the other boy. Kaworu did not seem the slightest bit disturbed that he had just slaughtered an Lovecraftian horror, one which was rapidly decomposing just behind him and leaking ooze onto his shoes. His shoes. His whole outfit, actually. It wasn't right, wasn't normal either. Kaworu wore knee-high black boots over white pants, as well as a vaguely medieval-style navy coat with embroidered silver dragons. The shirt underneath was white and flowing with too-long sleeves that covered much of his white-gloved hands. He wore a navy tricorn hat with a large white feather plume. It wasn't how one dressed when slaying monsters.

Kaworu wiped some of the orange substance from the sword blade with the back of his hand. "I know you are rather shocked right now. But trust me, Shinji, this is no dream. But neither is it reality. That is the power of the Angels, you see."

There was a silence as Rei stepped lightly towards the Angel's corpse, removed the lacy white gloves she wore, and began violently digging through its chest cavity with her bare hands.

Shinji looked away from the carnage, his gaze finding Kaworu's. "Um. No. I really, really don't see."

Kaworu sighed and helped Shinji up into a sitting position. "Please bare with us, just for a while. We knew Sachiel would target you, that is why we are here, but we do not know why the Angels would want you."

Shinji shifted uneasily. "Aren't angels... pretty? With white wings?" He looked at the... thing... lying dead. It looked just as horrific as it did when trying to kill him.

"You have never actually read the bible, have you?" he chuckled, "Certainly, they are nothing like the Evangelion Angels, but they are more similar to each other than to your idea of winged humanoids. There is a reason they descend from the heavens with cries of 'Fear not!'"

"Where is this place? What's an Evangelion?"

"You are really very full of questions..." Kaworu turned his head to glance at Rei, her arms shoved in the gigantic corpse up to her elbows. She was trying to pull something lodged in the chest. The orange substance pooled up all around her, sticking to her clothing. Like Kaworu, she was dressed unusually for the scene in a vaguely Gothic ensemble. Her long legs were hidden in black tights. A white petticoat stuck its lace below a shorter ruffled black skirt. She was facing away from Shinji so he couldn't see much of the front, but he could make out a tight-fitting, long-sleeved black blouse with puffs at the shoulders. "Do you need help, Rei?" called Kaworu.

"No, I found it." Rei gave whatever she had grabbed onto a quick yank. There was a sharp crack as the object broke away from whatever bone structure it was attached to. "The seed is small," she remarked, looking at a little black sphere that lay in her palm. "It will not last for very long."

Kaworu sighed. "It will have to do until the next Angel arrives."

"Y-you mean there's going to be more of those... those things?" Shinji felt the fear well up in his chest. He'd die if he had to face another. "What the _hell_ are they?"

The ground shook violently. "This world is ending," remarked Kaworu, far too calm for Shinji's liking. Rei hurried over to the two boys, black sphere cupped in her hands.

Shinji was panicking again. "No! What'll happen? Are- are you trying to stop it? What are we-?"

Kaworu shook his head. "Not the world of Zweite-Einschlag. This world."

"Sword," muttered Rei. Kaworu offered her his blade.

Shinji gasped as Rei sliced open the tip of her finger. "W-what are you-?"

"A catalyst," she explained. "Here." She offered a red, dripping finger to Shinji. He just stared.

Kaworu cleared his throat. "Our blood... is different. It gives us the ability to enter and exit Angel Barriers." The earth roared again. "If you do not want to die here, I would suggest you drink some."

"N-no way. I'm not! I'm-" Shinji was cut off as Rei shoved her bleeding finger into his open mouth. He felt himself gag a little. Rei withdrew her hand, satisfied. Shinji coughed and spat, but it was useless.

"And now we can leave," said an amused Kaworu as a pulsing ring of golden light appeared in front of him, "Do not worry, Shinji. It is over for now." He stepped into the light and seemed to fade away. Rei followed after. With no other option, Shinji stepped into the glow.

* * *

><p>The three of them stood in the garden by the music dormitories. Shinji's eyes watered up in the bright afternoon sunlight. He could only feel one emotion right now- <em>relief<em>. Pure, simple relief. He didn't die today. He wasn't hurt. The Angel was _gone. _His tension and fear were released.

Maybe he wasn't tearing up only because of the sun.

Shinji fell to his knees, sobbing.

"S-Shinji?" Kaworu was startled. Such a burst of emotion from another was very unexpected, especially when he spent the majority of his time with silent, stoic Rei. "You are fragile, like glass, aren't you?" He laid a hand on Shinji's shoulder. "Please stop."

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Shinji cried, "_I don't know what's going on!_"

"Should we help you get to your room?" asked Rei. Kaworu looked up in surprise. Was Rei showing concern?

Shinji nodded weakly. "Please... I'm sorry. I just- I just-"

"You need strength," she said, pulling the boy's arm around her shoulder in a loose support, "if you are to fight with us."

"...w-what?"

* * *

><p>Shinji lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. The ceiling, so unfamiliar, so unlike home. He was in a haze; he felt as if part of his mind was still in the world of the Angel. He thought he was seeing things. Rei removed a comb with a red gem from her hair and began to glow with a white light. When the rightness died, she was left wearing her uniform. Kaworu did the same a little later, removing a ring to call the light. Like a magical girl show, Shinji thought meekly, why am I seeing this?<p>

He thought he saw Rei pull and old, tattered book from a previously unseen leather bag. When the rubbed the pages with the black orb from the Angel's corpse, words appeared in a scrawling, antiquated German. Everyone in a while she would look up at the almost catatonic Shinji, then almost immediately return to the book that wrote itself.

Shinji could not tell what was reality. Maybe there _was_ no reality. He looked towards the window to see Kaworu happily playing with and petting Alois's parrot. That's it, Shinji thought, I must be imagining things. There's no way something like the Angels can actually exist. They defy all logic, he assured himself.

* * *

><p>It had been a little over an hour that Shinji lay lost in thought, somewhat catatonic. Rei had returned to her dormitory once the book that wrote itself showed no more words. Kaworu looked increasingly concerned.<p>

"...Shinji? If I attempted to explain all that is happening, will you listen? Tell me you will try, Shinji," he pleaded. The brown-haired boy nodded slightly. Kaworu sat and the foot of the bed, closed his eyes, and began to arrange the thoughts and events in his head. "First, I must explain what the Evangelion is. Do you have any idea of what the word means?" There was no answer from Shinji. Kaworu continued. "The Evangelion is a gospelm like the name implies. It is _our_ gospel." he pulled the leather-bound book out of the sack Rei had left. "I am not sure how to explain it properly. For now, think of God as an author. The Evangelion is the new book He is writing. It tells us of the angels, when they will come, what they will be. And it tells us of people." He flipped through the pages until the desired place was reached and held the book in front of Shinji. "Here is where it began talking about you."

Shinji was paying attention now. Could this be the answer? He froze. A memory floated to the surface of his mind. A memory of his mother. He could not remember the context, but he knew that she had talked with his father about something called an Evangelion. He squinted at the page, struggling to decipher the antiquated foreign script.

Kaworu noticed Shinji's difficulties and began to read it to him. "'And Sachiel shall choose the lost boy with the empty eyes, and he shall bring him into the world of the Angel of Water. The fear and pain shall change him, and he shall become a different person for it, but, if in surviving or still breathing, not perishing or falling into the shadow, he Third Child walks, he shall be cursed into the same burden...' There is more about this, too. It goes on for quite a while."

Shinji finally brought himself to speak. "S-so the Evangelion is like a prophecy?"

"No. It changes and updates constantly. That is why we need the Angel Seeds; to know as best as we can what we need to face next."

"... that little black ball?"

Kaworu nodded. "Think of it like the ink God writes the story with. I'm afraid this is all I can tell you, Shinji." He stood to leave.

"Wait!" shouted Shinji, "Where did you find this? What do I have to do?"

"For now, just rest and say nothing."

Shinji was taken aback. "I can't warn anyone? I can't tell Alois anything that-"

"Unless you want him to die, say nothing," Kaworu commanded, "Now, Shinji _rest. _You have two days to prepare yourself for the arrival of Shamshel. Keep in mind that it is not my job to see that you are healthy, it is my job to _make you join us_."

"_I don't want to die!_" Shinji sobbed.

"This is your fate. You mustn't run away."

* * *

><p><strong>End notes:<strong> Hurrah for exposition! I'm afraid that's why this chapter is short; it would have been much longer, but I did not want to have a giant boring chapter explaining everything that is going on. I'm sorry this chapter lacked action and was slow. More things will be revealed as time passes, I assure you. Kaworu is also turning into much more of a major character than I originally intended, but oh well. In the next few chapters you can expect much more Asuka. Also,** I need a timely betareader** for this fic. Please just say in a review if you are interested. Thank you in advance for any feedback or comments.

P.S. Did I mention that I really like Rei? Like, really really really like Rei? And draw her somwhat obsessively in... interesting poses? Too much information, I am sorry.


	6. Are Strange Days Your New Normal,Shinji?

Chapter Six: _Are Strange Days Your New Normal, Shinji?_

* * *

><p>Shinji sat in the corner of his room with his arms wrapped around his knees. He tried to block out all light by clenching his eyes tightly shut, as if this would help him think. He came to Zweite-Einschlag looking for peace of mind, looking to escape, yet he couldn't help but feel he was becoming trapped and ensnared in something beyond his control. He had friends here. Alois showed him kindness, something he hadn't seen in years. Drake was friendly. Most of the student bodied ignored him so far, but with benevolence. But all these positive points were overshadowed by the memory of the Angel.<p>

The giant, murderous monsters were not the only creatures he had come to fear, or at least be wary of. Who were Rei and Kaworu, in his new life? His first impression of Kaworu was that of the studious, quiet boy popular for his looks. He was still kind to Shinji, but... _"It is my job to make you join us." _That cold command and harsh voice echoed in Shinji's ears. There was a dark side, somewhere inside the boy. He was still, however, curious about Rei. He looked at her and saw beauty in its purest form. At the same time, she was frightening. Strong, emotionless, and fearless. No matter his fascination, Shinji would keep his distance. He recalled snippets of conversation and flashes of images from Rei's dance rehearsal. He did not even want to attempt to figure out what sort of relationship the two teens had...

There was a series of metallic clicks from the direction of the door. Shinji tensed, his eyes darting back and forth in search of something to defend himself with. Nothing. He could always sic Alois's parrot on the intruder if all else failed, he thought, but the bird was asleep. Shinji ducked behind his roommate's desk as the door creaked open

"Is there anyone here?" A female voice. Not Rei or Mari; the only two girls who would possibly have a reason to enter Shinji's room. He decided it would be too great a risk to show sneak a peek at who it could be. Besides, he didn't want to embarrass himself. He heard a sigh of relief from the other side of the room, followed by a ruffle of paper and a short ripping sound. Footsteps began moving away. There was a low wooden thunk as the door swung shut.

Shinji stayed still for about another minute, just in case. When he rose his gaze shifted to s spot of white on the opposite wall. A letter was taped there with "SHINJI IKARI" written across the front in blocky capital letters. He cautiously pulled the paper from the wall and tore open the envelope with his finger.

* * *

><p>"<em>I will be direct. Are you the son of Yui Ikari? If this is not the case, please ignore the rest of this letter.<em>

_"We are glad to hear of your arrival and are sorry to worry you, but there is a chance you know some very important information. It is likely you do not know what this information is. As such, it would be beneficial to all parties for you to attempt to recall the circumstances surrounding your mother's death. I know these memories are painful, but this is a very important matter._

_"Please come to the fountain in the center of the Zweite-Einschlag campus at 7:30 this evening. From there you will be guided to a confidential meeting place. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you."_

* * *

><p>Shinji stared blankly for a little while and then tore the paper into little pieces. He had seen movies, he knew how this sort of thing went. He did not need to get involved in another suspicious chain of events. Shinj though back to Kaworu's words, how he said there were only two days until the next Angel arrived. Maybe he could run away before it happened, but didn't he come to this school to get away? Wasn't <em>this<em> his second chance? "I mustn't run away..." he muttered.

A thought occurred to Shinji. He looked over at the clock. 5:30 in the evening. He had been at Zweite-Einschlag for just over one day now. It felt like much longer. e dreaded the thought that every passing day would drag like this and play with his emotions and sanity as such.

Shinji snapped opened the clamps of his cello case, rustled through his new sheet music, and began to play. The sound led him to another world, like it had so many times in the past. One where he wasn't afraid of the things happening around him.

* * *

><p>"Well, okay," began a woman's voice, "So maybe I <em>could<em> have phrased that letter differently but, _come on!_ It's not _my_ fault!"

"Shut it, Misato." A gruffer man's voice.

The woman let out a "hmph" of frustration. "I bet you he doesn't know anything, anyway."

He? Who's 'he'? Oh, Shinji thought, me. I'm here too. Why am I here? He cracked open his eyelids and saw he was lying on a couch in a room with wooden walls. Where _is _'here,' anyway?

"Damn, is he awake already?" now Shinji recognized the woman's voice as that of the intruder his his room. "God, how do we explain this?"

"Your job, not mine." A door clicked shut.

"Hey! Get back here!" she shouted. There was no reply. Her voice became suddenly softer. "Hey, you okay? Sorry about this." Shinji could only assume she was talking to him now, so he rolled over to face her. She was kneeling by the sofa Shinji lay on, and he found his face about level with and far too close to her breasts when he turned. His face turned the approximate color of a tomato.

"Um... um..." Shinji shifted his attention to her face. Maybe in her late 20s or early 30s, shiny dark hair and mischievous eyes. Very pretty, he though to himself, and then sadly added 'too old for me.' "W-what am I doing here?"

The woman laughed and stood up to walk over to a mini-fridge in the corner. "I wrote that letter you got earlier. I should have made it more obvious that coming to meet me was not optional, I suppose. Misato Katsuragi, vice-captain of NERV for this region! Want some beer?" She pulled a six-pack from the mini-fridge and held it out to a confused and disoriented Shinji.

"I-I'm in high school."

"Oh. Oops. I forgot." A smirk appeared on Misato's face. "So... do you want some beer?"

"No!"

For a brief second the woman looked a little crestfallen. She popped open one of the cans with a metallic snap and began chugging. She sighed in relief and returned her attention to the boy in front of her. "Anyway, did your mother or father ever mention NERV?"

"Nerve? Uh..." Shinji bit his bottom lip in concentration as he tried to remember. "Um. No. I don't think so, at least."

Misato sighed. "Okay, then. Looks like I have to start from scratch." She took aanother gulp from the can. "Now, how can I put this...?" She trailed of into silence and twirled a lock of her hair between her fingers. "Okay. You'll have to bare with me here for a little bit, but, for lack of a better explanation, we're trying to kill God."

Shinji didn't quite comprehend what she said. "G-God? With a capital 'G'?" his voice cracked in a nervous squeak.

"Uh-huh. Pretty much." She began sipping her alcohol calmly.

Shinji stared.

"So..." she began, trying to alleviate the awkwardness.

Shinji stared.

"Oh, come on! Even the greatest of plans sounds stupid when you boil it down to one sentence!" she shouted, crushing the aluminum can in her fist.

Shinji stared.

Misato buried her face in her hands. "Oh man, I've done it now..."

"Uh...Ma'am?" Shinji's voice shook nervously. Misato looked up, now slightly hopeful. "Ma'am, I-I think you're very pretty, and you seem very nice."

Misato beamed.

"But you are also very, very crazy." Shinji paused for a bit and looked at Misato's frozen in shock face. "B-but maybe in a good way?" he stuttered, not wanting to provoke a fit of rage.

The older woman opened her mouth as if to say something, but remained quiet.

Shinji didn't quite know what to do. "So... I-I'm not quite sure how I got here... can I just assume you broke into my room again and knocked me out or something while I was practicing?"

Misato nodded with a blank expression on her face.

"C-can I go back to school now? Er. I promise I'll talk to you again later if you ask me to come nicely and in an...um...normal way." He felt himself turning pink again. He really, really hoped his days would not always involve so much chaos.

Misato made a gesture to behind Shinji, and he turned to see a small metal spiral staircase on the opposite corner of the room, a few feet to the right of the door he presumed the mystery man from earlier left by.

"T-thanks?" he said, uncertainly. He proceeded to ascend the sketchy little staircase.

* * *

><p><strong>End Notes: <strong>Yay for another tiny chapter! I'm afraid I spent the past few days marathoning The World God Only Knows (I think I'm in love with that show) so I could start of season two! Anyone else watching current season anime out there? I love Maria Holic Alive! Even better than season one.

Ahem, in regards to this fic, welcome to the story, Misato! After a couple really dark odd chapters I feel like this one is too light or something. Ah well. As of now there are two and a half "myth arcs" in formation; I hope this will be sufficient to keep your interest. Also, **if you support an EVA pairing, what is it?** Answers won't effect the current directions of the story, but I'm curious and like teasing! Reply and please review!


	7. Eventful Day, Wasn't It, Shinji?

Chapter Seven: Eventful Day, Wasn't It, Shinji?

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><p>"Was... was I under the school the whole time?" Shinji muttered in amazement as he attempted to try himself off. The small staircase he climbed let to a tiny trap door that unexpectedly opened into the base of the school's fountain, completely drenching him. Why would an <em>art school<em> need hidden rooms? _Underground_? To Shinji, this one day seemed like it had lasted years. Was it just a few hours before that he was goofing off with Drake in the garden by the music dorms? It couldn't be.

Shinji looked up to the sky. It was almost completely dark, with more little pinpricks of light than he had ever seen. The stars looked so much brighter here than in his home in Japan, where the city was busy with light that drowned the sky. Here the only artificial illumination he saw was three spotlights focused on the fountain he'd just stepped out of, playing tricks with the water and making it change color. The night at Zweite-Einschlag was quite beautiful.

Shinji froze, realizing he had no idea how long his little adventures had taken, and it was now likely far past the time he was supposed to return to the dorms. He quickly looked left and right to make sure no one was about, and raced towards his room.

It didn't take long until he was out of breath. Shinji was a musician, after all, not an athlete. His steps pounded against the ground and began to slow. He leaned over with his hands pushing on his knees. I'm probably late anyway, he thought, It really doesn't matter at this point. He let himself collapse into a kneeling position. Once again, his mind was flooded with the chaos of the day. He closes his eyes in a vain attempt to clear his thoughts.

The Angel.

The image was burned into his eye.

The little hairs at the nape of his neck began to prickle with fear of the memory.

Shinji looked at his hands and saw his fingers trembling. Even when he balled them into fists, it didn't stop. Part of his mind worried about how trembling fingers would affect his playing, with the half-day Sunday classes starting in only a few hours after dawn.

The Angel.

The letter and the underground base. How did his mother die? She killed herself. She stood in front of a train. But his mother was happy. She was smiling. She loved him. She had no reason to die.

She needs to be here... Shinji thought, She needs to help me! To help me... to protect me from the Angels... He looked to the heavens, a vague hope forming in the back of his mind. He whispered to her. "Please, Mama..." His cheeks reddened as he realized how childish he sounded. "I don't have anyone. I never did... Why did you leave me? Why didn't... why didn't you make sure... I was happy?" He voice cracked a little on the final word.

The Angel was still in head head, toying with his thoughts. Kaworu said that he had two days. Two days until he had to face another of those monstrosities.

Shinji yelped in shock as he was surrounded by a sudden blinding light. The white made a circle around him, leaving a space for his black, silhouetted form on the ground. He froze, holding his breath and fearing whatever was coming. The day wasn't over. He could still go through more torture, more stress, more mysteries.

"...Shinji?"

The eponymous boy turned to face the voice. His shoulders sunk as he released the tension from his muscles and heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh my God. Aloi- ARGH!" His relief was replaced with slight panic as the blond boy tackled his to the ground with a flying hug.

"Ohmygod! Wewereallsoworried! Ithoughtyouweredeadand... and... SHINJI!" Alois's grip around the other boy tightened as his speech disintegrated into incoherent babbling.

The bewildered Japanese boy tried to pry his clingy friend off his torso. There was an exasperated sigh from beside the nearby bushes, and Drake walked into view with a high-power flashlight. "Quit your whining, idiot. It's past midnight. We'll all get detention if one of the Deans finds us..." His eyes darted back and forth, and he flicked off the flashlight to be more discrete.

Shinji squirmed awkwardly. "A-Alois. Off. Please?"

"_Mais tu es mon ami._ But you're my friend." He relinquished his hold on Shinji. "I was worried when it got late. _Très anxieux_. You're new, so there was nowhere you could be."

Shinji felt himself blushing. Not just blushing; turning tomato red. He was glad it was dark and the other two couldn't see. He stood, brushing himself off and trying to regain a little dignity. "I-I've only known you for a day. Um... w-we're not really friends..." It was too dark to see expressions, but the silence that followed told Shinji that Alois was a little hurt.

"Guys, c'mon!" Drake whispered, urgency evident in his voice. "I have a clean record to keep here!"

"Meh," murmured Alois, suddenly seeming much more tranquil, "Who cares about records?"

"Certainly not the guy who's gotten over twenty hours just for sneaking into the girls' dorms," Drake scoffed.

"Jealous."

"Um, I-I think we really should be getting back." The two other boys turned to face Shinji. "I mean... well, I just got here and all, and I don't want people to hate me or make a bad first impression..."

"Don't worry about it, kid."

The three boys yelled in surprise at the sound of the deep voice. "Shit!" shouted Drake. He clicked the flashlight back on, illuminating the newcomer. "D-Dean Ryogi..."

"I take it you three aren't up to anything nefarious?" the ponytailed man queried, a lop-sided grin on his face.

Alois stepped forward sheepishly. "No, Sir."

"Then why are you out so long after hours?"

"Looking for our friend, Sir." Alois looked to Shinji, who backed up his alibi with a nod.

The Dean reached out and ruffled Alois's hair. "Good of you to lookout for the new guy." He turned to Drake. "Can you shine that thing away from my eyes? Thank you."

A memory surfaced in Shinji's mind. He knew it probably wasn't the time, but he thought he had to ask. Sure, it could have been a coincidence, but this man _did_ warn him when he saw him last. "Uh... Sir?" The older man stepped away from Alois and bent down to Shinji's ear.

"I know about you and the Angels. Sorry- can't do anything yet. Stick with Kaworu." He stepped back to address all three of them once more. "Now boys, I'll keep this a little secret because you all don't seem like you're up to anything. However, this isn't some Hogwarts school; the next time you wander about after hours, someone _will_ find you and you'll get in a heaping pile of trouble."

The three of them spoke in unison, bowing their heads. "Sorry, Sir."

"Now, on your way."

Dean Kaiji Ryogi stood and watched to make sure the boys actually went to their dorms- the blond and the new boy to music, the dark-skinned boy to art- and didn't try to pull a fast one on him. He sighed and looked to the sky. "So it's happening now, eh, Yui?"

* * *

><p><strong>End Notes:<strong> Jeez what a short chapter. But I've had three tests and five essays and two projects this week, so can you really blame me TT_TT?

Besides, this little interlude seemed to come to a natural close with the always-cryptic Kaiji. If I continued with the next day, I think it would have felt awkward.

Oh, and the French is quick translation from my mom, who hasn't been to the country since I was born if not longer, so it's likely very bad. Sowwy.

And a note to all fans of Ouran High School Host Club who may be reading this: I'm betareading a very awesome fanfic from OnaTorre called Release Me, focusing mainly on the twins. Our writing styles are similar, although hers is a lot more flowery and poetic, which is nice. Please check it out! On a related note, I just realized how accidentally Tamaki-ish Alois has turned out to be... Oops.

Please review! Updates every Saturday!


	8. Are You a Warrior, Shinji? Part One

Chapter Eight: Are You a Warrior, Shinji? Part 1

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><p>Shinji felt himself break into a cold sweat as he felt goosebumps rise on his neck. All eyes were on him now. The new transfer student, standing at the head of the practice hall beside the bust of Mozart on a pedestal. He wanted to lift his cello and us it to shield him from all the curious gazes. Was it just his imagination, or was it growing hot and stuffy?<p>

"I-I'm Ikari Shinji. Um. S-Shinji Ikari, I mean." There was a short giggle from the back of the room and Shinji felt a blush creep upon his cheeks. "Um. I... I really hope I can lend my talents to this orchestra and... and we can have a really good year!" He dipped forward in a short bow, then turned pinker when he realized it was not the custom to do so. Alois began to applaud quietly, and the rest of the class soon followed suit. When the noise ceased, the tall, blond director stepped down from her platform and shook Shinji's hand.

"I am Dr. Akagi," she said with a voice that sounded slightly low for a woman, to Shinji's ears. "For now, just sit at the back of your section, but when challenges come up in a few weeks you can always try to take someone else's seat."

"O-okay." He shuffled off to the empty chair behind the rest of the cellos. He was relieved to see he had no stand parter to sit by him and share his music; he preferred sitting alone. He took his music binder from his bag and waited for Dr. Akagi to tell them what to play.

"Polovetsian Dances," she said, "Top of page three."

There was a flutter of paper from all corners of the room, while instruments and bows were raised in anticipation. Dr. Akagi lifted her arms, and when she dropped them the room exploded in sound.

* * *

><p>"So what did you think of your first practice session?" asked Alois, jogging to catch up with Shinji.<p>

Shinji was practicing the song's finger patterns in the air as he walked. The cello part was relatively simple, but there were still a few tricky parts. "Erm. It was good. I mean, I've never played any of the songs you're doing before, but at least I know 'Dances.'"

Alois shook his head. "Not my favorite piece. I guess I just don't like the original opera much, though. My mother used to play a recording of it incessantly."

"...so did my mother," muttered Shinji, "She played it because I liked it, though," he added.

"That's nice. Wanna meet up with Mari and Drake in the painting wing and eat out? I don't feel like eating on campus today. Plus, it's Sunday and we don't have to wear our uniforms and look like dorks if we leave. I love Sundays! We have music for half the day and then do basically whatever we want."

"I...sure."

"Good morning, Shinji." Both of the boys jumped in surprise and turned to face the speaker.

"Oh. Kaworu," Alois greeted, slight disdain in his voice. The silver-haired boy was smiling like always. He appeared to be still wearing his dance practice clothes- black workout pants and a cropped white t-shirt. Shinji wanted to talk to him; he had so many questions about the previous day, and he figured Kaworu would be the only person willing to answer.

"Hi," Shinji managed meekly.

"I need to show you something, Shinji." He turned to Alois. "Mind if I borrow him for a while? Important business, I promise."

Alois simply glowered.

Kaworu pulled his hand up into a mock pleading gesture. "_Si vous plait?_"

The blond boy rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine. See you later, Shinji." He waved halfheartedly and continued down to path to the art buildings.

"Um, I'll see you later!" he called, and then he turned to Kaworu. "So... what do you want?"

Kaworu laughed a little. "Shinji, certainly you do not think I would leave you to fight the Angel without help or protection?"

"I guess not..."

"I like you, so I do not want to see you hurt. You may have no choice but to fight, but you _can_ defend yourself, to a degree." He grabbed Shinji's arm and began leading him in the direction of the theater. "For the past few months, Rei and I have set up a... base of operations. Once we get there, we can tell you more."

* * *

><p>Shinji was once again awed by the beauty of Zweite-Einschlag's theater, but neither the seats nor the stage were their destination. "Back there." Kaworu gestured towards the red velvet curtain on the right side of the stage. "There is a wooden door that leads to some catwalks and the lighting booth." He pulled back the curtain, revealing the promised door, and pulled a small silver key from some hidden pocket. It opened to reveal pure darkness.<p>

"Um..." began Shinji, not entirely comfortable venturing into the pitch-black unknown.

"Six steps in, there is a small spiral staircase. Feel for the handrail."

Shinji obeyed and stepped in holding his hands out before him, and soon enough he felt some cold metal touch his hand. "W-why don't you go first? I can't see a thing. I don't know where I'm going."

"Which is exactly why you should go first. That way, if you fall I can catch you."

For a brief second Shinji was glad of the darkness. No one could see the blush staining his cheek. Shinji almost tripped on the second step, but steadied himself on the handrail. He mentally cursed whoever neglected to put a light in this stairwell.

As if reading his mind, Kaworu explained. "There _was_ a light last year. But it burned out, and no one can find a safe way to replace it."

"Oh-h."

How high does this go?, he wondered. It seemed like the ascent was taking forever, but Shinji thought it was likely the darkness just playing on his nerves. Then again, a snail probably could have climbed the dark stairs at the same pace he was. Each of Shinji's steps contacted the metal with a heavy clunk sound and caused the rail to vibrate a little with the impact. But Kaworu was absoluted silent. Dancer, he thought, nothing weird. Nothing creepy or Angel-related. It's just because he's a dancer and is used to this. Still, it unnerved him a little and made him feel like he was alone.

"Three more steps, Shinji."

He lifted his foot apprehensively to where he assumed the step would be. However, he met nothing but air and fell forward, landing on a hard platform.

"Or maybe just one step. Sorry."

"Ow..."

Kaworu helped him back to his feet. "The door should be open..." he muttered. Shinji heard the click of a doorknob being turned. "Here we go."

Shinji blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the new light flowing in. He looked out and realized where they were. Kaworu stepped onto the thin, suspended catwalk and vanished from view behind a curtain. They were above the theater- _far_ above the theater. On one side of the walkway was a metal rail for balance, but the other side was relatively open with nothing but different colored lights in metal cases connected to wires. Shinji made sure to keep closer to the railed side as he ran across it, aiming to get off as quickly as possible. He only slowed once he reached the more solid-seeming ground of the lighting booth.

The contrast between the gorgeous, glamorous theater and the small, grimy technical room was immense. The walls were a plain, dusty gray like the floor, and three office chairs rested on a blotchy dark orange rug. Camera parts and extension cords covered a table in the back of the room, as well as a good part of the floor. By the triple-monitor computer setup on the front desk was an old slushie cup.

"Here."

Shinji looked to the right and saw Kaworu pulling a black curtain away from the wall, revealing an unassuming door the same gray as the walls.

Shinji tilted his head a little in confusion. "Your base is... there?" Kaworu didn't respond, but simply sunk to his knees in front of the door and assumed a prayer-like position with his hands. Shinji could see the boy's lips moving and hear light whispering, but couldn't make out and words. "K- Kaworu?" There was no reaction. The silver-haired boy closed his eyes and ceased his whispering. There were a few seconds of complete silence, with Shinji having no clue how to react. Shortly, Kaworu opened his eyes and stood with a triumphant smile on his face.

Shinji could see no difference. At least, not until he saw Kaworu insert a key into a hole he was certain didn't exist a minute before.

"Are you ready?" asked Kaworu. Shinji nodded. "Okay. But do not be too surprised at what you see."

* * *

><p>The warning was entirely useless. Shinji gasped as he saw the interior, wondering how in the world such a place existed in the attic of a theater. Every surface was a pure, solid white which made floor seem to blend into ceiling. There weren't even shadows or lines of perspective; walls, floor, ceiling- it could have been any shape in the world, and Shinji wouldn't have been able to tell. Whatever total darkness did to human vision, this room was the pure white antithesis. The chamber was, or at least appeared to be, quite spacious,with a round, fluffy white rug in the center that looked like it was made of some sort of soft animal fur.<p>

Rei sat cross-legged in the center of the rug, wearing only biker shorts and a white tank top, while watching what appeared to be floating digital displays that occupied most of the space in the room. Screens seemed to float in the air, making a rough circular formation starting around seven feet off the ground. A few of the images were lower, possibly because Rei had recently read them. Her current screen was floating in the center of the circle with her, just a few inches from her nose. Some flicks in the air from her pointer finger were enough to scroll through and change the size of the display, which appeared to be some kind of surrealist woodcut print. "Oh," she began, as always showing no emotion, "You brought Shinji."

Kaworu walked forward and sat by her side on the fluffy white rug, pulling his knees up to his chest. "Do you think that will be Shamshel's Shadow?" She nodded. Kaworu peered over at the floating screen and grimaced. "Cherubs..." he murmured. "Shinji, it looks like we really will require your help in this next battle."

Shinji was too distracted by the floating images to even register Kaworu's speech. Many of the images appeared to be scanned from some ancient book, judging by the color and and writing of the paper. To the left and above a screen showing a greyscale cubist-style painting, there was a tall, thin, black sillouet marked in red with the kanji character for "unknown." Shinji felt a shiver go down his neck at the image, and hoped the grotesque stretched mockery of human form did not belong to an actual being. A little below and diagonal from that was a black rectangle, with "Formation 1" written in green and some text Shinji couldn't make out. Scattered here and there were holographic images of what appeared to be fans, swords, bows, even muskets that could presumable be turned and inspected at every angle. Shinji couldn't read many of the floating documents, because most of the text was in German. However, there were strange illustrations aplenty to keep his attention occupied.

And occupy his attention they did, until Rei stood and experimentally waved her hand in front of his eyes. Shinji jerked out of his state of wonder. "You need to make a contract, "she stated, "To become a Warrior of Light like us."

"C-contract?" Shinji stuttered. he knew this wasn't mentioned before.

Kaworu sighed and began leafing through the humongous leather-bound book Shinji failed to notice, so distracted by the other dazzline features of the room. "You have seen the Evangelion before, the book that tells us of the angels and other events. This is the second one we discovered; the Evangelion Unit 02. Although it reads radically different from the first, you are written in both. I am afraid you do not have much of a choice but to make the contract, already existing in the story as you are." He then looked up and turned to Shinji with a smile. "But Rei and I will protect you. You will not come to any harm, unless circumstances are exceptional. Please join us."

Shinji broke his eye contact with Kaworu and looked down at the floor. "Um... w-what do you consider 'exceptional?'"

"It will not come to that. I will not let it. But please go ahead and join us so we can start your training." Shinji figured he didn't have much of the choice and sat on the carpet with Kaworu, carefully studying the brown, crinkling pages of the Evangelion 02.

"So what do I do?"

"For now, empty your pockets."

Shinji was taken aback by the unrelated question. This was supposed to be some sort of mystical ceremony... thing, wasn't it? He hesitated, but obeyed. Kaworu smiled warmly at his as he dug out a pen cap, a spare string for his cello, the key to his dorm, and a wallet. Rei pulled on some invisible or imaginary rope behind them, bringing more screens into a readable distance.

Kaworu looked over the few items, and his gaze settled on the cello string. He ripped open the paper packet and handed the metal cord back to Shinji. "I think this will do nicely. Just hold on to that for a bit while I find the proper page..." There were a few seconds of shuffling before the boy paused on a page written in a calligraphy so intricate and flourishing it was almost unreadable. Kaworu place the tome on the carpet in front of Shinji. "Read this." Shinji began to scan over the page, trying to find some nice, familiar English or Japanese. "Out loud, I mean," Kaworu clarified.

Shinji was bewildered. "It's German. I can't-"

"It doesn't matter. Use phonetics; try to sound it out." The silver-haired boy's voice was encouraging.

Shinji squinted harder at the page and began to read. It was a long, difficult process, but as the last syllable passed through his lips, he felt a shiver.

A shiver, then a tugging, cutting feeling like a scab being peeled off a wound, but the wound was immaterial. This was his soul.

It didn't hurt.

Shinji screamed, but not in agony. It felt wrong. It felt unnatural. He lay on the ground, squirming and convulsing. The air around him felt like it was swirling and suddenly very heavy. He couldn't breathe properly. Shinji felt the cello string in his hand begin to squirm of its own accord. It was growing longer and thinner and forming a coil in his hand. Shinji tried to let go of it, but somehow the impulses in his brain didn't connect with the muscles in his body. He could only wait until it was over as he lay helpless on the ground in an unfamiliar place.

The last thing he heard before passing out was Rei's voice. "Rest, Warrior of Light. When you awaken you will be one of us."

* * *

><p><strong>End Notes: <strong>Finally a decent length chapter! With summer coming, you can expect more like this. This particular one is a two-part chapter,because of reasons that will be clear when I publish the second half.

"The Polovetsian Dances" is an amazing piece of music from the opera Prince Igor. One of the reasons this song is notable to us Eva fans is because this is the piece that Hideaki Anno originally wanted to use for the opening. The producers of the show, though, thought it would be to strange to have an anime with a classical opening, and had Cruel Angel's Thesis written instead. Fun fact time over!

Yet again I feel like I should give credit where credit is due, and say that this story was greatly inspired y Mahou Shojo Madoka Magica.

Thanks to OnaTorre for betaing this chapter! Y'all should check out her profile.

Please alert and review for weekly updates every Saturday!


	9. Are You a Warrior, Shinji? Part Two

Chapter Nine: Are You a Warrior, Shinji? Part 2

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><p>Shinji rolled to his side and attempted to stay unconscious, consumed by exhaustion mentally yet physically rested enough to awaken. He was also just a little frightened. He wasn't sure just what happened before he passed out, but he felt... off. Not right. Something was different, and wrong, even though everything was also right.<p>

His eyes flew open at the sound of Kaworu's voice. "How do you feel?" The silver-haired boy was just a little too close for comfort to Shinji. At an extreme close distance, his red eyes were much more intimidating than intriguing. Kaworu noticed Shinji's reaction and back away slightly, but still offered Shinji a hand to help him stand.

Shinji cautiously accepted the gesture of help. "Wrong..." he muttered, "Wrong but... okay?"

Kaworu nodded. "That will do."

"He must transform." Shinji turned to see Rei staring intently at a paper fan. He'd grown used to dismissing atypical behavior from the strange yet beautiful girl, but did a double take when white-blue light began to drip and flow from the fan, surrounding Rei.

"W-what is-?" Shinji yelled as the light began surrounding her, spinning rapidly. After a few seconds, he couldn't see her anymore. It became too bright to look at directly without considerable pain. Shinji squinted, his eyes watering, unable to tear his gaze away completely. Suddenly the case of light burst, sending shining beams flying explosively across the room. Shinji screamed and shielded his eyes with his forearm. As he felt his knees begin to give way, he felt a soft pressure on either side of his chest as Kaworu lent his some support.

"Believe it or not," the boy whispered, "No one but you and us can see this."

The excessive light was suddenly extinguished but left a flickering blue afterimage in Shinji's vision. He rubbed the flashes from his eyes. Looking up at Rei, he paused, a slight "o" of surprise forming on his lips. Rei wore the same clothes he saw in the last Angel's world, but they were undamaged and clean of the alien orange blood that stained them last. Just as surprising, however, were changes to Rei's fan.

There was no longer just one dainty paper fan; she held two in each hand. The light pink cherry blossom pattern turns to embossed silver dragons on some type of black metal, and each individual segment of the fan had a glistening silver quarter-circle blade attach to the end. Shinji couldn't help but think the final result looked less like a fan and more like the glorified half of a circular saw blade, but the source of the weapons was still just apparent enough to call to mind the image of a fancy prop fan.

Rei flicked her wrist. The fan she held between her left ring and middle finger went flying and span through the air.

Shinji tried to duck, but his body didn't obey. Shock froze him like it always did, and the glistening silver was growing larger and larger...

He felt the breeze as the fan-weapon flew by his face, and a light stinging on his cheek. Slowly, ever so slowly, he lifted his hand to his face. His skin prickled as he felt something drip onto his finger. Shinji made an attempt to say something, to make some exclamation of panic, but could only produce some guttural sounds from his throat. Kaworu's light touch was still there... at least, on one side. Shinji turned hesitantly. Kaworu stood calm, as if Rei hadn't just launched a bladed deathbringing semi-circle at him and Shinji. The expression of serenity seemed to never leave his face. Then, Shinji's gaze flickered to Kaworu lifted right arm and hand. He held the fan loosely in his unharmed fingers, having caught it easy by the handle. Kaworu turned the fan's angle slightly downward to reflect Shinj's face on one of the blades. The cut was no wider or deeper than a long papercut. Shinji's shocked fear was replaced with awe.

"I have very good aim," stated Rei, motioning to Kaworu to toss her back her weapon. He obliged, and Rei's small gloved hand darted up to catch it flawlessly between the same two fingers she tossed it from. "It is your turn, Shinji?"

He felt all his blood rush up into his face. "M-me?" She nodded silently. "H-how?" he squeaked.

Kaworu took his right hand, the hand that still clenched the cello string. "Focus all your energy into this," he instructed.

"It... will it do anything?"

"I assure you that your transformation item will not harm you, cause pain to you, or threaten to stab you and, in fact, cannot move on its own. In the event that it does, we encourage you to disregard the development completely."

Shinji squirmed uncomfortably. "That really _really_ doesn't make me feel any better." He gritted his teeth and sighed. There really wasn't much of a choice. He had no idea what to do, so he just decided to concentrate and see what happened.

And happen something did.

The only way he could describe it was tingling. The feeling from sitting on your leg and standing only to suddenly discover the painful little pinpricks in your foot. Except this times, the feeling was all over his body. Light streamed from his hand and flew around his body until he could see nothing but white, as if he stood in a tank full of opaque water. With a gust of wind the light vanished, leaving only Shinji.

Leaving Shinji, the cello string, and... battle armor. That was the only way he could describe it; he wore battle armor, an extremely simplified samurai yoroi. The central plate over his chest was covered in purple lacquer with a black insignia showing seven eyes arranged on an inverted triangle; four on the left side, three on the right. The shoulder plates are heavy and scaled, each plate alternating between dark purple and black. They felt too bulky on Shinji's thin shoulders. Large plates also covered the front his thighs with the same color scheme and were tightly secured to both his legs and the upper part of the armor with lime green lacing. Heavy cloth sleeves with spikes at the shoulders covered his arms until bulky purple gloves took over. He could feel the same sort of material on his legs, but everything from the knee down was covered with plated purple and black boots. Finishing the ensemble was a black cape with the same symbol on his chest sewn on in dark purple. A large coil of metal wire was wrapped around his right arm. The cello string, presumable now a weapon.

Shinji took an experimental step forward and found it was quite difficult. Kaworu had changed into his light Renaissance-style battle uniform, complete with sword, and was carefully stretching as if preparing for dance class. Shinji kept moving, flexing his arms, checking his feet and knees, trying to get a feel for the suit. A small part of him was a little jealous of Rei and Kaworu's much lighter, airier uniforms.

With a sweep of he hand, Rei whisked all the floating screens in the strange, almost dimension-less, room to a faraway point and called some floating silver cylinders into being. Shinji stared in puzzlement. "Attack them," she commanded, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Shinji didn't move; he had no idea even _how_ to attack with the wire.

Rei trotted a dozen or so yards away from the cylinders, paused, and span on the point of her toe with a pirouette-like motion, releasing her four fans. There was a crunch of metal on metal with the impact of the blades, floating cylinder was reduced to a few scraps of metal on the ground. She dashed over to the small wreckage and kicked the fans back into the air, where she deftly caught them between her fingers.

Shinji was amazed. Even though she wasn't dance, her movement retained the same grace. No, Shinji corrected himself, she _is_ dancing. He turned to watch Kaworu practice, boldly leaping into the air and bring his sword down on the cylinders with surgical precision. Fighting and dancing, Shinji continued on the same train of thought, to them, they're the same thing. He looked at the three cylinders left for him to destroy. But how, he wondered, how can I fight with my music?

Experimentally, he moved his arm with the gesture he would use in a down-bow in orchestra. A length of wire snaked off the coil. Here we go, he thought, not that bad. With a quick motion he flung the string towards the cylinder. More wire flew forth to the target, and sliced it in half with almost no resistance. Shinji stepped back in surprise.

"I told you the cello string would do just fine," Kaworu assured, smiling happily. "Keep up with that and the Angel will be dead in seconds!"

Shinji felt a chill go up his spine at the those of facing another monstrosity, this time in battle, but something in Kaworu's words struck him. "Y-you mean..." he stuttered, "you think I'll actually be useful?"

The silver-haired boy nodded. "Of course! The Warriors of Light will not have to work so hard, now that you are one of us. I thank you, Shinji."

"Thank you," Rei murmured.

Shinji felt himself flush. "I-I-"

Kaworu tilted his head in curiosity. "Is something wrong?"

The cellist shook his head. "Nothing. It's fine. Sh-should I keep practicing, or do I go home, or-?"

Rei spoke. "You have done enough. To change back, just think it. Goodbye, Shinji." Rei waved the screens of pictures and documents back over around her and continued reading, studying, researching, or whatever it was she was doing. She didn't glance back and Shinji and Kaworu changed and began the trip back to the dorms.

* * *

><p>Shinji's thoughts were still racing.<p>

Not from his newfound, magical power.

Not from the impossible room with no or infinite walls and floating objects.

And not from the fear of coming combat.

No one had ever thanked him for anything.

Shinji smiled, and followed Kaworu into the darkness of the semi-hidden staircase.

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><p><strong>End Notes:<strong> So sorry about the lack of chapters last week! Exams, y'know? Anyway, with summer here I intend for that to be the **_ONLY_** time the schedule slips without prior notice. Reviews are appreciated, as well as questions about anything related to the story or the direction it will take, or any comments at all! Question of the week: I've already mentions the wonderful Madoka Magica, but if anyone can guess the OTHER non-Eva anime that inspires and flavors this story, you get kudos and a special request granted ^_^

See you next Saturday!


	10. Can You Deal With Asuka, Shinji?

Chapter Ten: Can You Deal With Asuka, Shinji?

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><p>"Dr. Akagi, could you please excuse some of my students and let them sit in on your class for an hour or so?" The man speaking was the Zweite-Einschlag photography instructor, a brown-haired, sharp-dressed man in his late thirties. "If your students have no objections, of course." He looked over the orchestra students, today all in their blue and white weekday uniforms. The violinists and violists, including Alois, sat patiently with their instruments on their laps, practicing stretches of notes with their left hands beside them. The two boys at the first cello stand were rather obviously passing notes back and forth, while the rest of the section sat quietly.<p>

Shinji squirmed a little. He never liked the idea of having his picture taken, but figured he'd a least be safe from this torture because of his position towards the back of the practice chamber. However, what he really didn't like was the idea that these strangers would listen to them play. Photography specialists would have no idea how to appreciate the pieces they played, or understand that they were still unrehearsed and not at their finest. Shinji furrowed his brow in thought. What if their playing was so off-key it turned the visiting students off from classical music? That would be my fault, then, he thought, and what if I mess up and everyone thinks I shouldn't be here? At this school? That I'm not good enough? The half-day before had gone smoothly, but that didn't alleviate his worries...

Dr. Akagi's words interrupted his train of thought. "It is entirely fine, Mr. Isenburg. We're glad to help your students." She turned away from the photography teacher and stepped onto the podium, now facing her own, slightly apprehensive, students. "Business as usual, but pay close attention to your positions. We don't want to look bad." She glared at a slouching third-violinist who took the cue and straighted up hastily. "Polovtsian. From the top." Four dozen instruments rose to match the movement of her baton, eagerly awaiting its downfall to begin.

Two cuts in the air for tempo.

And then, magic.

Light, airy notes floated about the room, drenching the musicians in sound. Shinji had always loved the Polovtsian Dances, as well as the opera it was originally from. He was thrilled to be playing it at Zweite-Einschlag, even though it wouldn't be quite the same without vocals, because after all, it was one dash of familiarity in this aliien environment. Shinji wan't familiar enough with his music to looks away from the notes, but he knew that if he closed his eyes he'd be able to see his mother working at her desk, playing a recording of the opera Prince Igor as she typed furiously on some mystery project.

The mental image troubled him slightly. The woman in the underground base, the one with the beer, she said his mother's research had something to do with God. Did that mean something to do with the Angels? Shinji shuddered, which caused a strange sour note to escape his cello as the bow shook. The Angels. He'd have to fight one tomorrow.

The tempo took on a different rhythm as the first movement finished up. According to Alois, this was the class's main format. A play-through of the song they were working one, not stopping for anything sort of a nuclear explosion, then work on smaller parts, and sometimes small group practice with the each different instrument section. Shinji wondered how this would play out if they had a new piece. Was everyone at this school just so good that they could play anything through on site? The thought intimidated him.

But not as much as the figure who just walked into their class. The fiery hair sent up a warning flag in the back of his mind, and he wandered back to the memories of his first day. It seemed like forever ago, and yet it was only four days.

Shinji and the rest of the cello section propped their right hands on their knees. There was a long rest for them as the violas took the melody for a little bit, giving Alois a chance to lead his section into the next movement.

Shinji looked back over to the door and saw the redheaded girl standing with five other students, three boys and two girls. All held large-lensed cameras. They began to quietly disperse throughout the room, trying not to disturb the musicians. Well, most of them were, at least. The fire-haired girl obviously didn't care about their art as she stormed through the middle of the first violin section to get a better shot. Shinji saw Dr. Akagi give her a correcting glare, and noticed her expression quickly change from anger to exasperation as she rolled her eyes and returned her full attention to conducting. The bright camera flash briefly blinded a few violinists to quickly lost their place in the music, judging by how their bows swerved and now moved at odds with the rest of the section.

Shinji sighed inwardly. At least the girl didn't see or remember him.

It was time for him to play again. It was a short section of crescendos; each line began soft like a bird's call, but with eight hard strokes from the full bow ended with a fortissimo cry of the Valkyries. The pattern repeated for a short while, before a sudden silence.

The red-haired girl looked away from her camera's viewfinder, and locked gazes with Shinji. She was clearly no longer interested in the violins. She began to dodge her way between stands and musicians to reach the cellos.

Alois began a solo on his lower G and C strings, the rest of the section backing him lightly. Normally a baritone singer would have this part. Alois had bragged about his short solo bit to Shinji the night before; apparently he had dueled the first-chair cellist for the right to the part. Shinji asked if Dr. Akagi was the one who judged their playing in the battle, but it turned out that both boys were fencers and Shinji assumed the wrong type of duel. Part of him was greatly amused by this. Strange friends were at least entertaining ones.

When he glanced away from his music he jumped in his seat. The girl was standing tall right next to him, fiddling with her camera settings. Despite her obvious beauty, she had a gargoyle's face. Stony and scowling. High above the rest of humanity, in spirit if not in fact. Shinji did his best to ignore her as he pace of the music picked up. Nerves got to him. Everyone else was so much more familiar with the song. He was struggling, and couldn't help it. He felt terrible. He got lost. Letting his section down by messing up. Did he really deserve to be in the same class as all these geniuses?

"You're off-beat," the girl rasped into his ear, her warm breath stinging at his neck, "Idiot. You're not that good. You don't deserve to be here." Her index finger deliberately punched the shot trigger, capturing Shinji's shocked face in the camera as he turned to her. "What?" she whispered. A wry smirk turned up the corners of her lips, but her eyes remained cold and stony. "You know it's true."

Shinji said nothing, but grimaced and returned to his music. That was how you dealt with these people, right? Don't react. I mustn't run away, he muttered under his breath, I mustn't run away, I mustn't confront, but I mustn't run away. The next few dozen measures were relatively simple. Just normal background providing for the violins. He could sight read this well. He'd show her.

Show her he did. It was perfect. He even threw in a few fancy bowlifts to show off just a little. The girl soon grew aggravated and moved onto other people, seemingly with the goal of distracting the musicians as important to her as getting good shots. Shinji grinned a little. This round, he won. Maybe this little victory forshadowed an actual victory, over the Angel. He really hoped so.

* * *

><p>The photography students stayed for around an hour and seemed satisfied when they left. The orchestra spent most of the rest of the day until lunch perfecting the fifth page of the Dances. It was uneventful, successful and... <em>normal<em>.

Shinji liked normal. Normal was a big relief, normal was good. No hidden lairs. No cosmic horrors. No transformation, pocket universes, or hidden passageways. No demonic parrots. He could like this school, maybe. Maybe this place could be good. He clicked his cello case shut and slung it over onto his back. After lunch and free period, at two o'clock, the normal academic classes would start and go until dinner at six. He was still slightly nervous about those. He was sure that geometry would be fine, but was a little uncertain about modern world history and world literature. Given that Zweite-Einschlag was an international school, either of those could have an odd or unexpected curriculum. He at least had two classes with Alois and one each with Mari and Drake, so maybe they could help him catch up a little.

Oh yes, and somehow Kaworu was in every one of his academic classes. It couldn't be coincidental.

Geometry, literature, physics, modern world, computer science, and German. The last one was what gave it away; Shinji knew Kaworu spoke fluent German, because of their first meeting. There was no way he would be in a beginner's class for a language when the school offered seven other options to take. It was beyond suspicious.

"Hey, Shinji! Lunch with us today?" inquired Alois, bounding up to his side.

Shinji wanted to say yes, but had promise Rei and Kaworu he would meet them in a "dress rehearsal" for the next day's fight. "Um. No." Alois looked more than a little disappointed. Shinji desperately tried to correct himself. "I-I mean! I mean I really want to but... but I have to see the Deans!" He was terrible at lying. Alois raised an eyebrow. "Um... first real day with classes and all? See them? Yes?" he squeaked.

The blond boys sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, but whatever you're really doing, just be careful. You're still new here, after all."

"T-thanks."

A female voice shouted from behind them. "_Hey!_ New kid! Wait a second, idiot!"

The two boys froze, and turned to see a certain female photographer had returned. Students cleared to either side of the hall for her. The stride- and it was a stride, no walk could carry such arrogance- was fast and confident, and the placement of her feet made her hips swing back and forth in an arc, the motion only highlighted by her tiny, certainly-not-regulation-length skirt and over-the-knee, bow-adorned socks. But no one questioned her breaches of dress code, or her attitude, or even why she was in the school when she lacked much artistic talent. No one questioned Asuka Langley, the Princess of Zweite-Einschlag, because she just _was_. And she was very good at being; being spirited, being strong-willed, and being the chairman's daughter, among other things.

"We need to talk, _Shinji Ikari,_" she spat. Flame-colored hair flew around her face as she tossed her head.

Shinji took a cautious step back. "I-I really can't right now, I-"

"You have no choice!" she yelled, jabbing her finger into his chest, "You've bitten off more than you can handle. Kaiji told me _all about_ what _you're_ doing."

Alois was red in the face as he stepped up to defend his friend. "_Faut péter dans l'eau pour faire des bulles_, Langley. Go away. Don't bother him."

"If I could understand what you just said, I'd probably want to punch you. Brainless idiot."

He scowled. "_Le cerveau il etait en option chez toi_, Langley. Not me, not Shinji. I may not know what's going on with you and him, but-"

"I don't have a clue what's going on, either!" wailed Shinji, "So please just leave me _alone!_" He tried to gather his wits and took a few deep breaths. He fists clenched and unclenched. It was a nervous habit he's had since forever. Breathe. In and out. He was better now. "I-I guess I do kind of need to talk to you. Both of you."

Two pairs of eyes widened with mild surprise.

Asuka was the chairman's daughter. She probably had some connection to the Angels and Warriors of Light. Maybe she knew more about the mysterious Evangelion. And Alois... Shinji didn't want to leave his best friend completely in the dark. He didn't want to keep avoiding him, making up excuses. "At dinner," he began, speaking to both of them, "can we talk? I need to go do something. Clear things up. I'm... confused. I'm really confused, and I'm sure I only know a fraction of what's going on right now. But I know... I know that I don't want to make enemies. And I don't want to lose friends. S-so please, can we deal with this later?" he pleaded.

Alois smiled and nodded. Asuka made a small "hmph" sound and stormed off, fiery hair swirling behind her.

"Shinji, 1. Asuka, 0," muttered Alois, chuckling a little. People around them began whispering, trying to guess what had just happened, and why. The boy looked at Shinji with earnest eyes. "And you know what? I don't want to lose friends, either." He smiled and continued walking, leaving Shinji behind. "I'll talk to you later!" he called back.

Shinji felt like, somehow, the right thing had just happened.

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><p>After some difficulty in the dark theater corridors, Shinji made his way to Rei and Kaworu's secret room, the room with floating artifacts and no dimensions. As he sat on the fluffy white carpet, he couldn't help but stare up at the screens dancing in the air above them, Rei reading and tending to them as usual. When he looked up, he didn't see a ceiling. Only white. Just like the walls- either there was no surface, or the surface was everywhere. He couldn't tell. Someday he'd have to just keep walking and try to find out how big the room actually was...<p>

Kaworu lay on his stomach on the other end of the carpet, flipping through the pages of three different Evangelions and carefully comparing the passages. Suddenly, Shinji noticed a startled look appear in the boy's red eyes.

"W-what is it?" asked Shinji, now a little worried.

Kaworu shook his head. "Nothing really. Simply... Shamshel may be a little more difficult to fight than I first assumed. We had better practice."

"Shadow," said Rei.

"...excuse me?" prompted Shinji.

"Shadow. He is red shadow. Colorless... red shadow. Furious. Desires. And minions, cherubs. Fighting will be hard."

Shinji was very surprised. Although he didn't understand a word of it, this was the most he had ever heard Rei say at one time. Shinji pulled the loose cello string from his pocket, preparing to transform, when an idea occured to him. "Say, Kaworu?" The silver-haired boy looked up from a last check at the Evangelions' instructions.

"Yes?"

"Um. I was wondering... two things. Well, maybe three." Shinji felt his cheeks grow just a little pink. kaworu tilted his head a little to the side in curiosity. "Well... Rei's fan turns into... metal fans, and my spare string becomes razor wire... stuff. So... how do you have a sword? I mean, it's, like, an _actual _weapon."

Kaworu grinned a little and removed a fountain pen from is pocket. "The pen is mightier than the sword, ne, Shinji?"

Shinji felt his lips twitch into a slight smile. He had never heard Kaworu use any sort of humor. Even if it was a little lame.

"What else is it that you wanted to ask?"

"Oh. Um. Y-you know Asuka Langley?" he stuttered.

Kaworu's face darkened. "Oh. _That_ girl."

"Y-yeah. Anyway, I wondered if she-" Shinji was interrupted by a screech. He span to see Rei on the floor. Shivering. Clutching her heart.

"_Rei!_" shouted Kaworu. He rushed to her side. She was gasping a little and moaning. "Rei... Rei, _are you okay?_ Oh, please..." He was terrified. Worried. Something was wrong with Rei. _His _Rei. "Please..."

The girl shuddered. "Here..." she gasped.

Shinji had no clue what was going on. All he knew was that if Kaworu, calm, stoic, easy-going Kaworu was scared, then something had to be terribly wrong. He didn't know what to do. He just watched the two pale teens, watched to see what would happen.

Kaworu stroked the girl's face with his hand as he tried to help her into a sitting position. "Oh, Rei..." He hugged her body close to his, comforting her and giving support at the same time. His hand made circles on her back, calming her shaking.

"He's... here..." she whispered.

"Who's here, Love?" murmured Kaworu. Shinji had a terrible feeling about this in the pit of his stomach.

"Here..." she squeaked, "Shamshel... is early. We have to go."

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><p><strong>End Notes:<strong> Finally, I get to write another Angel attack chapter. It's going to be epic. And Asuka... you will be seeing much, much more of her. As of this publishing, the story is now completely outlined to the end. I'm afraid this will be a giant project upon completion. And now that _I_ know what's happening, I'm curious to know what y'all think is going on. So please, review and message with theories and predictions! May the Wild Mass Guessing begin!


	11. Fight, Shinji!

Chapter Ten: _Fight, Shinji!_

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><p><strong>Angel Attack chapter extra: <strong>Read this chapter while playing this (www..youtube..com/watch?v=Sw1weml0-r0 *remove the extra dots*) song in the background. It is the same piece used in last chapter's orchestra class, Borodin's Polovetsian Dances. Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno intended to use this piece as the anime opening at one point. This entire chapter was **written to coincide with the music**, and the experience will be **INFINITELY better with the proper soundtrack. **So hit that play button, and enjoy the update!

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><p>Despite the desperate situation, the so-called Warriors of Light tread softly and slowly, with care. Shinji was scared, but he felt his emotions take on a sort of catatonia as they approached what would likely be a terrible fight. His breaths were deep and even, his body subconsciously calming his mind in preparation. He was still frightened, but felt better. Not sick, not frozen in terror, but better as he set his feet carefully in front of each other. He hummed a soft tune to pull himself away from reality as he and Kaworu climbed the catwalks high above the stage. The way to the Angel's World, this time, would be on the roof. After Rei opened the gateway, they would have to leave her behind while she recovered. Shinji already felt bad, abandoning her without leaving a way to give a signal, to tell her if they were alive or not, and leaving her to suffer alone without Kaworu to help or comfort her.<p>

Kaworu walked a little behind Shinji, his progress slowed from carrying a barely conscious Rei. She lay cradled next to his chest with her head nestled under his chin, no longer squirming with pain but still breathing unevenly. Kaworu did not have too much trouble carrying the girl; they had spent years together practicing the most difficult lifts in their dance classes, and at this point he was so accustomed to her weight, size, and body that she felt almost like his other self. "It will be okay..." he murmured, "Shinji and I will fight for you." He titled his head downwards and nuzzled her hair. "Please don't worry."

Shinji flushed pink and was glad he was walking in front. He was always uncomfortable around people in relationships. He had never known such happiness in another person, not since his mother's death. He turned his head to glance at the other two. Rei... was smiling. Just a little, but he could see it. Shinji couldn't help but be a little jealous. A little jealous of both of them. Maybe... a little bit more than a little. He couldn't imagine how it would feel; He blushed a little redder at the thought. Relationships, he thought, would remain for him something like a guiding star; always influencing one's actions and pathways, but never something attainable, reachable. Always something distant. And to Shinji, everything had become distant.

His father, for example. They were never close, but... no matter how much he denied it, Shinji still respected the man. He still wanted some sort of acknowledgement. Anything, really, would do...

He paused upon reaching a door at the end of the walkway and cautiously reached out a hand to open it. Kaworu was still whispering words of comfort to Rei. The bright sunlight suddenly streamed into Shinji's eyes, blinding him for a moment, but soon cleared, like a camera flash. The roof sloped downwards at a rather steep angle, so they'd have to be very careful; they were many stories above the ground. A sense of vertigo overtook him, but he soon realized that from this point, the entire campus was visible. The effect was quite beautiful. He frowned. What if someone saw them up there? What if something happened to Rei while they fought?

"Rei, sweetie," muttered Kaworu as he softly set her down, "I am sorry but... you need to transform. To open the barrier." She nodded, ever so slightly, and removed the prop fan from inside the folds of her uniform. The somewhat familiar pillar of swirling light formed around her, although it seemed dimmer than usual. The transformation light was so solid it appeared almost like a real object, a blindingly white silk scarf surrounding her sitting form. As the beams burst away from her body they gathered in the air, latching onto something invisible, like a crack or tear in front of them. Rei slipped back into unconsciousness from her effort, but the light still acted to pry open a wider and wider hole in space. After a final wistful glance at the girl, Kaworu leaped through, and Shinji scrambled after.

* * *

><p>He was falling. Falling <em>fast. <em>Everything around them were shadows. Some light above them flashed red, and the bloody hue illuminated forms around Shinji. Chairs lined the tunnel down which they fell. Broken chairs, wooden chairs, arm chairs... all empty. A few seconds later, and all the chairs were on fire. The tunnel grew narrow, and the thousands of chairs began to close in. The heat was unbearable.

A flash of white light broke into the red.

Kaworu had transformed. Shinji pulled the cello string from his pocket and tried to focus. It was hard, but the light overtook him. Swirling, hard light that shielded him from the fire and wind. When it disappeared, Shinji was in his armor, and picking up speed. The fire wasn't normal fire; it was turning blue. The chairs were changing as well, changing into clocks. Tik-tock. Tik-tock. The sound filled his ears, driving him mad. Tik-tock! All in unison, all burning to cinders from the phantom fire.

Falling. Still falling. Still being baked alive by the flames.

Kaworu managed to somehow slow his speed to be level with Shinji. "Sorry... for getting you into this," he shouted, so he could be heard over the roaring wind, flames, and clocks.

It didn't feel real. Shinji was so scared... that he no longer felt frightened. He felt dead.

A small red circle appeared below them, and it was growing bigger. "What's that?" he yelled. Kaworu shook his head in reply. It couldn't be something good, then. A few seconds later it appeared that, whatever it was, they were going to fall through.

"Hold onto me!" commanded Kaworu, "Do not-!"

Shinji didn't need to listen to the rest of the warning, he immediately latched onto the other boy's back. He hoped... he hoped Kaworu had an idea.

The silver-haired boy drew his sword and held it out below them, point first towards the... lake. That's what it was. Shinji hoped.

When the sword tip collided with the surface, the thick, red material exploded around them, leaving a thick crater in the center. And somehow, Shinji knew he survived.

_Tenshi_

_Mal'ak_

_Tian shi_

_Maleaach_

_Aggelos_

_Ange_

_Engel_

**Angel**

The voices sang to the two boys, words carried by the swirling wind. A heavenly chorus made of demons. There was a low sound, so low it was indescribable and almost inaudible, a sound better described as a sensation than anything else.

Suddenly, dozens, _hundreds_, of lights appeared. Small orbs, blinding orbs, screeching, _screaming_ orbs that made Shinji want to cover his ears and curl into a ball, to hide, to do _something._

"Shinji!" shouted Kaworu, launching himself into the air with an impossibly high leap. "Cherubs!" He hacked with his sword , slicing three, "I will take them!" The orbs that had been cleaved in two dimmed in the air and hung, becoming blood-red ruby spheres. Kaworu stood on these, used them as stepping stones to keep himself in the air while he destroyed their brethren.

Shinji gasped. Kaworu could almost fly. He was leaping like some sort of spirit. Then again, he spent half of his day practicing to be able to do just that in dance. It was... a little entrancing.

Then, the orbs got angry. They expanded, and started flashing different colors. They swarmed, launching at Kaworu as one unit. The sword moved like a blur, and a ruby wall formed around the fighter.

The lake Shinji stood in began swirling...

"K-Kaworu!" he yelled, "What's going on?" A sublimation process began, and the red rose up, turning into smoke. That smoke began to form a shape. A hand... "_Kaworu!_" But the spheres had relaunched their attack on the silver-haired boy; he couldn't reply.

The form grew, solidifying in the air. A hand, a human hand, with tooth-filled circular mouths on the tip of each finger, a circular core in the center of the palm, and six spindly insect legs for support. "Shamshel..." gasped Shinji. He prepared his weapon, jerking a length of wire out from his sleeve;He didn't get to use it. The Angel moaned and then flew up the tunnel they fell from, too fast for Shinji to react.

He looked up again to see Kaworu succeeding in his battle. Each slash was less desperate and more triumphant. He continued leaping on the dead orbs, but now his movement was strategic. There were only a few tens left. He flew from his safe point and skewered four from above, ran through two with a side slash just after. A few more seconds and they were all gone, a ruby field in the air. Kaworu laughed triumphantly and jumped down to Shinji's side, landing neatly on his toes.

Half the battle was over, they thought, until there was a deep rumble. Both boys' eyes opened wide in shock, and they froze. Suddenly, everything vanished.

* * *

><p>White.<p>

Confusion.

Shinji looked to Kaworu. The other boy was just as lost as he was.

Blank.

Delusion.

They readied their weapons, just in case.

Empty.

Apprehension.

The absence of an enemy, Shinji thought, was more frightening than the face of the enemy itself.

Then... sensation

The two boys felt a strange prickling feeling on their backs, the little tingling one's body sends when something is wrong. Carefully, they both turned to see the red mist, once again forming Shamshel's body. The tips of the fingers first, teeth like sawblades coating the inside, and the mist continued to swirl, creating the whole, horrible form. The core glowed with a pulsing, sickening light.

Kaworu saw an opportunity and charged forward without warning, his blade glinting with Shamshel's reflection. The Angel reacted faster than he expected. The sword missed the core, going into the mouth on the pointer finger. Kaworu yelped in surprise as the teeth clamped down, claiming his weapon. After a couple tugs he knew he'd have to abandon it and run. As he retreated, Shamshel launched a series of harpoon-like barbs.

"Kaworu!" screamed Shinji as the boy fell, a spike sticking through his shoulder. "_Kaworu!_"

Now he would fight. He had to.

The hand turned on its spindly legs to regard Shinji, its blood-red fingers waving and undulating in an unnatural motion no human joints would allow.

Shinji flung the coil of wire from his wrist with a scream, a scream mixed from both rage and fear. The silver slashed through the air and reached one of the Angel's legs, cutting it off cleanly. The mouths sung with the voices of the dead, wailing an unearthly sound in their new agony. Orange-tinted blood flowed from the small stump.

He could win this.

With another flick of the wrist the wire recoiled, a thin silver whip that looked almost like liquid. Even if Shinji could never match Kaworu in grace or acrobatics, this weapon certainly could.

Shinji was in almost a trance now, calm overcoming his body as the silver snake flicked in and out of the Angel's body. He was distant, once again. It _couldn't_ be Shinji fighting; he wasn't a fighter. It took all his effort not to run, normally. The one bringing victory should be Kaworu. Gorgeous, perfect, heroic Kaworu, like a character from an anime or fantasy novel. Not someone normal and _real_ like Shinji. But in reality, Shinji felt great being the hero. He was happy that he could do this.

There was no more Angel, only a puddle of orange. A small black sphere rolled away from the liquid, the Angel Seed. Shinji snatched it up, internally rejoicing. He won. He won _something_ in his life. And he was so _relieved_. Now there was nothing to be scared of... not for a while, at least. A dry gasp from behind him jerked Shinji back to reality, and he rushed over to Kaworu, picking up the boy's sword from the rotting Angel to return it. The barb in the silver-haired boy's flesh was dissolving, but it still left a bloody hole that went all the way through his shoulder, just under his collarbone.

Kaworu shuddered. "Do not worry... about me... You did well."

Shinji shook his head. "Oh, no," he gasped, "What- what can I do? Y-you're-" He paused as Kaworu's wound somehow began... _filling. _Not with just blood, but with sinew, muscle and flesh. Shinji's eyes widened. "K-Kaworu? What's...?"

The other boy just smiled. If he weren't in such pain, he probably would have laughed too. "It... missed anything vital. This wound... can heal itself. Just... one of the benefits... of being blessed by God," he panted, " Skin began to grow over the healing gap. Kaworu reached under his shirt collar and pulled out a silver cross on a chain, and brought it up to his lips in a light kiss. He then returned his attention to Shinji. "You are under His protection, too, now that you have joined us."

"I-I-" Shinji shook his head violently. He'd seen Kaworu pray before, once or twice, but it still hadn't caused him to picture Kaworu as the religious type. "No! No, I- I don't believe, even..." he looked to his feet as he said this, embarrassed to be confessing his skepticism to someone so obviously faithful_._

Kaworu was prepared to offer a more detailed account of his logic. "But the Evangelions are God's books. There is no other explanation, if you take into account all that they say. They speak of everything with omnipotent accuracy; our future, our pasts..." His gaze wandered off, and his smile disappeared for a second. "... and we made a contract with the Evangelions. Rei and I, with Evangelion Zero, you with Evangelion Unit One. We made contracts with God, so we fight for him. That is why... why we are Warriors of Light, Shinji." He tried to prop himself up into a sitting position, maybe stand. Shinji quickly reached to help him. "Thank you. You know... it is odd..."

Shinji tilted his head to the side. "What?"

Kaworu let out a quick grunt of pain as he finally got on his feet, one arm draped over Shinji's shoulder. "I suppose Shamshel constantly shape shift. The hand started out left, but was right when you killed it."

A quiet settled between the two boys. A thought occurred to both of them, but neither wanted to speak it aloud, just in case it was true. Just in case...

They froze as the chant began again.

_Tenshi_

_Mal'ak_

_Tian shi_

_Maleaach_

_Aggelos_

_Ange_

_Engel_

**Angel**

... and a left hand descended from above, wailing like a creature being boiled alive.

"_Fuck!_" yelled Shinji as he hit the floor for safety, doing his best to shield Kaworu with his body as the Angel swooped low over them. "Shit, shit, _shit!_"

Shamshel let out a roar, bellowing in unison from each of the five toothed mouths.

Shinji jumped up, flinging the cutting cord from his arm to the Angel's palm. But Shamshel had learned. It burst again into red mist with a hiss before the wire could reach it.

Shinji panicked when he saw the Angel could now easily counteract his only attack. He'd have to think of something else.

The mist swirled again, reforming into a wholly different body... An almost humanoid body...

Kaworu had mostly recovered. New determination shone on his face as he drew his sword once more. He waited, not wanting to charge while the Angel shape shifted for fear of some surprise attack being unleashed. Shinji wasn't so cautious; he lashed out with the wire desperately, succeeding in chopping the body into three chunks, but failing at hitting the glowing core. He instantly regretted this move when he saw each red glob morphing separately, forming three separate beings, humanoid in only the vaguest sense. Each was in the shape of what could only be described as a human-sized stick figure, with big, featureless, spherical heads and equally featureless arms, legs and a body only the thickness of a small red pipe. Although the legs simply ended flat upon reaching the pure, white ground, the arms trailed on into needle sharp spikes. With this new form, Shamshel was confident enough to cast its core away from its body, confident in its ability to defend it.

Kaworu let loose a battle cry and charged forward, engaging the closest form in combat. Two devil's spikes against one sword. The Angel had the advantage. Kaworu was doing everything he could to repel the stabs; although, he didn't even have the opportunity to strike back.

Shinji tried the razor wire once again, but found to his horror that the Angel had made itself harder by packing the mist more densely into solid form. He couldn't cut it. The form simply yanked the cord from its leg and charged him. Shinji had no choice but to run.

He looked over and saw Kaworu trying to fight his way past two of the Angel's figures, now. Four blades against one. He couldn't last long.

Shinji felt like a coward; he couldn't fight.

"You mustn't run away."

Shinji froze as he heard his father's stern voice in his mind. He saw the glasses flash. Saw him turn and walk away. Leaving him.

He's right, Shinji admitted, I mustn't run away. And he flung the wire out, aiming low. The silver whip curled around the form's legs, effectively sending it to the ground. Every fiber of his being warned him not to approach the monster...

And yet he tackled it, held it to the ground as best he could. He couldn't kill the thing, but he could keep it immobile until Kaworu defeated the other two.

Until Kaworu...

The silver-haired boy stumbled to the ground. The Angel won.

"Oh God," whispered Shinji. Never mind whether there was a God or not, they would die here.

The Angel beneath him turned once again to red mist, escaping his grasp.

"No..."

And then, by some miracle, orange liquid fell on his legs.

Shinji turned and saw Rei standing by the dead core, one of her fans embedded in its center.

"I felt better," she said, "I came for you."

Shinji's eyes filled with tears. "You came..." he gasped. He couldn't hold back his ecstasy. He was safe. Alive. He ran to Rei and hugged her; he didn't care about being decent. He just flung his arms around her small shoulders and cried into her, harder than he had in years.

The girl was shocked into stillness for a few seconds but then, feeling it was somehow the right thing, let her arms slide around Shinji's waist. From the corner of her eye she saw Kaworu lying on the ground, giving her an approving smile.

And that... that made her smile too.

* * *

><p><strong>End Notes: <strong>Please let me know how the soundtrack worked out for you, or message/review with any comments or theories about the story. Thank you so much for reading.

**Next weekend's chapter:** Shinji has to find out some way to explain what's going on to his friends, and Asuka hints that she knows something about his mother's death. Something that hints it may not have been suicide. NERV reappears, but will Shinji ever join their ranks?


	12. What Do You Know, Shinji?

Chapter Twelve: _What Do You Know, Shinji?_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Who are you?<em>**

"I- I am Shinji Ikari." There was a long, deep silence. Shinji felt like he was suffocating in it.

**_..._**

**_No. You are just a boy._**

The boy stared at the ground beneath his feet; he did not want to seem arrogant by looking up to search for the voice. "I-I'm sorry." He did not know what he did wrong, but somehow, he felt that apologizing was the right thing.

**_Do you want me to forgive you?_**

"Yes. Please. Please, forgive me!" the boy pleaded, clutching his head in his hands as he fell to the ground. He lay prone, vulnerable and submissive to the will around him. There was an audible silence as he waited for the answer, the absence of sound and being almost making a sound in itself. Why, here, did silence have substance?

**_..._**

**_You do not deserve it._**

The boy found himself weeping. His feelings were swimming around him; or rather, he was being swept between emotions, as if he was trapped in a roulette wheel. He did not cry simply for sadness or fear, but for confusion and joy and even lack of any feeling at all.

**_Stand. Face me. This once, I will forgive you._**

The boy did not move, too afraid of being overcome by terror to obey. Afraid of being afraid? Apparently possible, because the fear of fear had frozen him.

**_How... disappointing._**

* * *

><p>"I believe it is time for class. Do you feel like you can do it?" asked Kaworu, concern evident in his voice. Shinji's expression was worrying, as if he were remembering or experiencing something... abnormal. It was most likely just the aftermath of the Angel fight; it could do terrible things to a person's psyche. He did not react to Kaworu's voice. "... Shinji?"<p>

The other boy blinked a few times and briskly shook his head. "Oh," he muttered, "Class. Yeah." A squelching, low sound came from Shinji's stomach. "Um. No lunch?"

Kaworu chuckled. "Sorry, but we really must get to class. You can have a nutrition bar as we walk to Weiss, if you want. Time moves a little differently in Angel Worlds."

"Um. It's fine. Hm... Weiss..." Shinji fumbled around in his pockets for his map. "Weiss Hall. Er... that's right next to..."

"We _do_ have the same class, Shinji." Kaworu actually _winked _at him. "It is a convenient coincidence, ne? You can just follow me. ...Rei?"

The ballerina was reading through her Evangelion, the touch of her fingers so light the ancient pages did not even make the slightest crinkle as they turned. "Skipping today," she murmured, "Bye."

Kaworu shrugged. "I suppose that would be okay. Come on, Shinji." He grabbed the other boy's hand as they walked down the stairs to the stage, but Shinji quickly jerked his wrist away. The act made the silver-haired boy a little curious... did people not hold hands with friends?

Apparently not, for Shinji kept his hands clasped tightly behind his back until they reached Weiss Hall's doors.

* * *

><p>Weiss was one of the older buildings on campus, and also one of the smallest. There were only two floors instead of the normal three, and the classrooms themselves were tiny, barely accommodating eighteen desks and a teacher's station. Shinji's history room was relatively barren in design except for a collection of maps and some prints of Renaissance artwork. A projector hung from the ceiling, facing a screen at the front of the room. Most students were already sitting, engaging in petty conversation or working on their laptops. People looked up curiosly as Shinji walked in, but no one approached him or made any comments. Shinji let out a small sigh of relief; he was not looking forward to class introductions, and the idea avoiding even one made his day a little better. Besides, his nerves had taken enough damage from the battle, and he was certainly not behaving normally in his post-fight state of calmed emotions.<p>

A voice jerked Shinji from his contemplative state ."Oh. You're Shinji, right?" asked a seated, long-haired boy, closing his laptop. "The cello player. I'm in your orchestra class. Anwar." He offered a hand, which Shinji cautiously ignored. After a few seconds, the other boy gave up and reopened his computer. "The seat in front of me's empty, if you want," he offered, shrugging.

"I-"

"-We were going to sit in the back, by the windows," interjected Kaworu.

Anwar studied the newcomer for a few seconds. "So... you're in this this class now, too, Nagisa? Interesting."

Kaworu smiled and responded mechanically, shrugging off his classmate's suspicion. "My schedule got shuffled to I can have more time for my dancing. It really does not bother me, since nothing much was changed."

"...I see."

As Shinji and Kaworu took their seats, the gray-haired professor cleared his throat and stood. "Okay, section four today. And because I'm in a good mood, no essay tonight." There were a few muted exclamations of joy. "We also have a transfer student. Shinji Ikari in orchestra. From Japan, right?" Shinji nodded. "Okay. Get out some paper, everyone."

* * *

><p>After an hour of discussion of trench warfare and the first chemical weapons, the bell signaled time for second period.<p>

The next few classes passed the same as first period; a quiet entrance, finding empty seats, and listening to the unfamiliar teachers drone on over slightly more familiar topics. Despite Alois and a few other students Shinji considered friends sitting near him, there was no real opportunity to talk. Besides, Shinji's brain was still in a buzzing fog left over from the fear of combat.

Even though the immediate danger was out of the way, Shinji still could not keep a few troubling thoughts from his mind. After fourth period science, he finally mustered the courage to address one of his concerns. "Kaworu..." he began, "you're in all my classes."

The other boy didn't slow his walking or even turn back to look at Shinji as he replied. "Yes, I believe you are right."

"Kaworu..." He tried to think of a way to say it politely, but couldn't. "_Why_ are you in all my classes?"

The silver-haired boy paused to think for a short while. "I suppose... that saying I just want to have a friend in my classes would not suffice?"

Shinji shook his head.

"It is a precaution, then." Kaworu resumed walking, but Shinji didn't move. "... Are you coming?" he called back.

"I-I'm going to the nurse."

"Do you want me to-"

"Alone." Shinji wasn't sure if this urge was because he genuinely did not feel well, or because he just wanted to get away. Both, actually. "Um, later." He remembered the nurse's office being in the corner of Braun Hall and ran off in that general direction. He didn't turn back to see Kaworu's reaction.

* * *

><p>He cautiously turned the knob of the wooden door and edged it open, looking through the crack to see if he was in the right place. Everything was white and sterile-looking... probably right. He stepped in and closed the door behind him.<p>

"E-excuse me?" No reply, but he thought he heard someone opening drawers in the office section. "Is there anyone here?"

"Shinji Ikari!" shouted the dark-haired woman as she bound out of the office.

Shinji stared. What she wore... was certainly not the standard school nurse attire, what with the impossibly short skirt and dainty little nurse hat. Or the swooping neckline, for that matter, which she actually pulled off rather well... His eyes traveled down her body and rested on the open can of beer in her hand. "Oh God," muttered Shinji, "It's you again..."

"Now what do you mean by _that?_" she yelled, indignantly flicking her violet-toned hair behind her shoulder. "But actually..." She brought her finger to her lips, and her eyes wandered as she formulated an idea, "this is a good opportunity. I was gonna go look for ya in a bit, anyway."

"Um..."

She leaned in toward him, bringing her eyes level with his. "NERV needs you." Shinji started to back away, but the woman put a firm hand on his shoulder. "Actually, that's a lie. We _need_ your mother, but you'll have to do." Her eyes narrowed. "Especially... especially because I think you're already involved."

"I..." Shinji turned his head to avert the woman's piercing gaze. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but... but I don't know what you're talking about."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I thought you'd say that. But Shinji?"

"Yes?"

She seemed to choose her words carefully, like she wanted to tell him something but had to skirt around the real point. "I... knew your mother, Shinji. I'd like to know you, and work with you. And call me Misato." She glanced back at the clock on the wall. "... and if you don't need anything, you should get back to class."

Shinji nodded. His headache was not so bad, and he really did not trust Misato Katsuragi with his healthcare, at any rate. As he was about to leave, however, a thought occurred to him. "Misato..."

"Yeah?"

"If... if I wanted to know more about NERV... could I maybe see you later?" Somehow, though he couldn't quite figure out how, his willingness to talk to Misato made him feel like a bit like a traitor. He would not tell Kaworu about this.

Misato laughed triumphantly. "Of course! Eight o'clock tonight. Dean Ryoji's office."

"T-thanks." As he made his way to class, Shinji couldn't shake the ominous feeling that he had just made things much more difficult for himself.

* * *

><p>"...Wait, dude, so you're telling me you've never seen an anime?" gasped Drake, after Alois had made his views on the subject clear.<p>

"Well, I mean, I watched reruns of _Les Chevaliers du Zodiaque_ when I was a kid, like everyone else," Alois retorted, as he shoved another fork full of of cornbread into his mouth. "And Mum made me watch the Lady Oscar movie with her." His voice was muffled through the sound of chewing.

Shinji sighed. The subject of dinner conversation started out with discussing Shinji's hometown in Japan and quickly descended into cartoons. On the bright side, he didn't really have to explain awkward things about his past anymore.

"Oh, Saint Seiya, you mean." Drake waved his fork in front of him as he talked, as if he was conducting his words. "I've heard of it, but it never really came over to America. We had Yu-Gi-Oh when we were little. What about you, Mari?"

The pigtailed girl tried to form her opinion in a manner that would not offend their table's resident otaku. "Well, most of it seems rather silly to me, actually." She turned to the group member who had stayed unusually quiet for the past minutes. "You watch anything, Shinji? You're really the only one of us with an appropriate excuse."

"Well, I-" Visions of giant robots and storming _kaiju_ filled his mind, along with his own personal fantasies regarding them. "Not recently, not really." He didn't need those sorts of things to help him imagine excitement and danger anymore, at any rate.

Shinji stiffened when he heard a loud voice from behind him. "Well, what are you geeks talking about now?" jeered Asuka.

"_Mes affaires font mal au cul_, Langley," commanded Alois, "Yeah, Shinji said we needed to talk earlier, but don't just come up and ridicule yourself, okay?"

"Like _you_ have a right to call me ridiculous!" she huffed, "Look in the mirror!"

Alois gestured to himself in an exasperated manner. "Oh, _tu preferais pas baiser un cadavre?_ I'm sure your bitching's only disguised flirting anyway."

Asuka turned beet red. "I'd like to inform you that I prefer more _mature_ men, thank you very much!"

"Oh, is that the case?

"_Du hast einen kleinen schwanz_ anyway, I'm sure! On the other hand-"

As the two of them continued to quarrel, Drake and Mari simply sighed and rolled their eyes as they continued eating, but Shinji tried to step in. He really did need to talk to them both, and people were staring at their table, besides. There was a brief enough moment of quiet amidst the shouting for him to butt into the argument. "Um, guys? Talk?" he ventured, a little nervous.

"..._Scheisskopf." _

"_Pétasse._"

They both conceded and turned to Shinji, who sighed with relief. "Okay, um... can we go to the fountain?"

* * *

><p>"Er... Asuka...?" Now Shinji almost wished the two were still shouting. It would have been less awkward than this silence accompanied by the spraying water, anyway. "Your dad's the headmaster... and I've heard you know about everything that goes on at this school, right?"<p>

The redheaded girl sat on the edge of the fountain with crossed legs. "Yeah. So?"

"Well..." Shinji took a deep gulp of air. There was a chance this could end badly. "Are you familiar with... the Angels?"

She looked at him like he was mad. "What, the creepy statues on the main building roof?" Shinji shook his head. The way Kaworu regarded her with such disdain, the way she seemed to hint about NERV... he though she would have been able to tell him something. Help him piece together just what the hell was happening, but apparently not.

Then, Asuka's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh..." she murmured. "_Those_ Angels..."

"So you do know!" Shinji gasped.

Asuka nodded slowly. "I heard Daddy talking about them with Kaiji..."

"Wait, Kaiji?" Alois wondered aloud, "As in, Dean _Kaiji_ Ryogi? Since when are you on a first name basis with him?" Despite the twilight light around them, Alois and Shinji could see a noticeable blush appear on her cheeks.

"I- I was curious. Thought they were talking about me, so I listened in." An idea occurred to her, judging by the sudden spark in her eye. "... And I'll tell you what I heard, if _you_ tell _me_ about the Evangelions."

"Okay, just what the heck are you two talking about?" demanded Alois, "I'm starting to feel seriously out of the loop, here!"

Shinji sighed. Well, he wanted to talk about this with Alois, right? That's why he brought him here. He liked Kaworu, but something was... off... about him, and Rei was too cold and distant. He needed a _friend_ to talk to. To help and encourage him. "You see... the Evangelions are these books."

"Books?" muttered Asuka, seemingly very surprised. "They were talking about them like weapons or something, though."

"Well... I guess they kinda are weapons, too." Shinji locked gazes with Alois. "And I know you're going to think I'm completely crazy but... but I need you to trust me."

The blond boy was a little taken aback. "Serious stuff. Not my thing... but I think of you like a friend. I like you. Bring it on."

Shinji closed his eyes tightly. He'd just get all the information out and explain fully later. "The Evangelions are these big old books that predict the future. We make contracts with them and fight Angels. Angels are freaky monsters that live in these tiny pocket universes they create. When we kill them, we collect the seeds they drop. That's what I do with Kaworu and Rei. Except... I fought my first Angel with them today. And I've tried to hide it ever since lunch, but I'm... I'm... I'm scared. Really scared. And I think my mom's research may have had something to do with it. And Kaworu's... so odd. I... I really want to trust him, but I can't. Please help me."

Shinji could breathe again, but he kept his eyes closed, waiting for one of the two other teens to accuse him of craziness or paranoia. Instead, there was silence.

"That's..." started Alois, a little unsure of himself, "Normally, I wouldn't believe you. But those two guys went missing before you came here. And Kaworu... is not right. Maybe it's just because he's albino or whatever and that freaks me out, but... I don't find it hard, believing he's involved in something weird." He tried to give Shinji a reassuring smile, but faltered a little, still not quite sure whether his friend was completely sane.

"...Daddy said we needed to save the Angels."

Shinji's thoughts froze. "To-?"

"Save them. He said. To... experiment on. Something about succeeding where 'she' couldn't." Shinji opened his mouth to ask something, but Asuka cut him off. "And no, I don't know who he was talking about. One of Daddy's rivals, I guess, but she was weak. Committed suicide when her work on the Angel's didn't go right, apparently. _My_ father is strong and would _never-_"

"-Was it a train?" asked Shinji. He felt himself sweating a little.

"...What?"

"The woman... did she-?"

Asuka shook her head in frustration. "I told you, I don't know anything about her, you idiot! _Dorftrottel!_ Don't make me repeat myself- I only came here because I _felt_ like it, anyway, and besides, I- Eh?"

Shinji had slumped down to his knees and buried his face in his hands. He was shivering, just a little.

Alois was shocked and more than a little worried. "Shinji? God, Shinji, what's wrong?" He put an arm over his friend's shoulders. "...Shinji? Do you... need to see someone?" Shinji shook his head slowly.

"I know it's her," he murmured, "It _has_ to be her."

"Who, Shinji?"

The fear from the Angel battle flowed back freshly into his mind, along with the images from that day at the station... Shinji's shoulder's shook as he began sobbing. "I- I don't know what's h-happening." Hot tears began streaming down his cheeks. It grew difficult to breathe. "I don't- I don't- Help me..."

"Hmph." Asuka stood and turned away from the scene at the fountain. "A boy crying." There was an edge of iron to her voice. "How... _disappointing_."

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><p><strong>End Notes:<strong> I love summer. I have time to write decent-length chapters. Anyway... so the plot thickens. I hope you enjoyed this week's installment of Eva: RoS! I'm going on a vacation, so I'll most likely not be able to write a chapter for next weekend, but I may make up for that with mega-chapter the next week. Reviews are appreciated- if you've read this far into the story, I'd love to hear why you've kept reading and what you like or dislike ;)


	13. Don't Get Your Hopes Up, Shinji

Chapter Thirteen _Don't Get Your Hopes Up, Shinji._

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><p>An ambient noise filled Shinji's head, sounding directly into his brain without passing through his ears. The volume grew gradually louder until he couldn't see or feel; the only sensation was the single note in his mind that rendered him blind, deaf, and mute.<p>

**_Who are you?_**

He heard no voice, but was aware of words. There was no sound, simply projected thoughts, but they played as a reverberating question to his subconscious. Shinji couldn't answer. He couldn't think, couldn't move, had no self-awareness in the foreign realm.

**_I asked who you were. I will become angry if you do not answer._**

The sounds invading Shinji's mind dived down a level to allow him to think. Who was he? He was a boy, the son of his mother and father, but yet the _wasn't_ that. Not just that, at any rate. Was he a musician? A warrior? No one word described him, nor did any combination of words. "I don't know..." he muttered, feeling defeated.

**_..._**

He could feel the presence within him waiting, carefully considering its words.

**_That answer is wise. Good boy._**

Shinji felt as if a heavy weight had disappeared from his body. He did not realize how badly he needed the reassurance; if the voice was a real human of flesh and bone standing before him, he would have either embraced it or thrown himself at its feet.

**_Now. Do you want me to guide you? Or not?_**

Although Shinji was certain he was still blind, he was aware of a winding path in front of him, the spirit glowing before him in a line that twisted madly through a sea of danger. Despite his fear and the unnaturalness of the situation, that small encouragement still feed him confidence. "Please." His voice no longer wavered as he spoke, "Guide me. Protect me."

**...**

Once again, a pause as the presence considered. This time, however, instead of emptiness Shinji felt hope. Maybe... he would not be alone. It would help him, save him.

**_You do not deserve my help._**

Shinji felt as if his soul was crushed by falling rocks. The steady ground that supported him so evenly was barely there, and what remained was uneven, unreliable. Still, he refused to give in to hopelessness. "I mustn't run away," he whispered, "I mustn't run away... I mustn't run away..." With each iteration his confidence rose. "Fine!" he yelled, "Don't help me! I-I can make it on my own..." A pang of regret hit him after the words left his mouth. What if the presence really did care for him? What is he destroyed everything in an instant with his careless thoughts?

**...**

_**You will fail.**_

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><p>Shinji felt something warm against his back as he awoke. The sensation was very welcoming, especially after the void of feeling and emotion in his dream. He snuggled further into the covers until something clicked in his thought process and he rolled over. Shinji froze as he saw his roommate lying next to him, still asleep, despite having his own bed a few feet away. He analyzed the situation with mild confusion and began poking Alois awake.<p>

The blond boy let out a short moan and sat, rubbing the sleep from his face. "What's up?" he murmured, blinking a few times to adjust his eyes.

Shinji could feel his face growing warmer from a combination of annoyance and embarrassment. He was _not_ comfortable with this. "W-what the heck are you doing?"

The other boy yawned. "You kept shivering and talking in your sleep. Moved around a lot." He stretched an arm into the air. "And I thought, hey, it couldn't hurt. And you did stop." He noticed the look on Shinji's face. "Dude. No homo. I promise... I'm gonna nap for like five more minutes, 'kay? We still have more than half an hour."

Shinji sighed and decided to let the issue drop. He took special care to avoid the cloth-covered parrot cage as he made his way to the closet to get ready for the school day.

As he buttoned up his white oxford shirt, the memories from the night before at the fountain flooded him. He had completely lost it after what he learned..._ Lost it_. His fingers paused at the thought of those two words. "Alois?" he called.

A sleepy voice answered him with a muffled "Yeah?"

"Do you...?" Shinji cast his eyes downward, and tried to think of the right way to get an honest answer. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

A stillness settled in the room.

"I think..." he began, "I... well, I though about it some more last night. About the... Angels and stuff."

Shinji remained frozen, facing the wall, as he waited for him to finish. The night before he had said he believed, but things may have changed.

"Shinji... God, I don't know how to put this..." He bit down on his bottom lip. "I think you should see someone."

Something crumbled inside Shinji as he heard those words come from his friend's lips.

"I'm sorry. I know last night I... supported you, but I really, really can't. The main reason I listened what because I don't like Kaworu, and you were telling me somthing that could explain why. I mean, I think he's a super weirdo, and Rei too, but... there's no way I can believe your story. I... I think Asuka probably feels the same way, really. Sorry."

"It's... that's okay." It really wasn't he needed someone, but... he had been hoping for too much, really.

"You're my friend," Alois assured as pulled himself out of the bed and walked to Shinji, "...and I'm worried about you. If you think all that is real... you need to do something about it." He had no idea what the proper thing to do in their situation would be, so he reached out and grabbed Shinji's hand. "Look, just tell me if you're taking any drugs or anything. That could explain it. I won't tell anyone, as long as you quit."

Shinji was startled to feel the pressure of the other boy's hand around his, and knew he was serious. What if none of it was real after all? Maybe he had imagined everything. Imagined all the fear, the surreal alternate reality, the transformations, Kaworu fighting... Shinji's head jerked up as an idea occurred to him. "You fence, right?" he asked.

It took Alois a second to register the irrelevant question in his brain. "Yes...?" he replied uncertainly.

Shinji closed his eyes in thought. "Maybe...when the next Angel arrives, you could help us."

"Shinji, I-"

"Then you'll know I'm telling the truth, right? And... and the last time was a really close call. We need help. Please." He turned to meet Alois's gaze for the first time. "Please."

Shinji never asked for anything. He was always meek, unassuming, and logical. This request threw Alois off guard, but a small part of him thought, maybe, agreeing to this could help. He didn't know how, but there was a chance, and it couldn't do any harm. "I... I will." He put on a fake smile for his friend's sake, and felt terrible when a small, genuine smile matched his.

"Thank you," Shinji said earnestly, "I promise I can prove everything. We can work together."

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><p>Orchestra was relaxed that day; Dr. Agaki had to leave class after only about ten minutes for some appointment, so class was spent looking through the school's depository of sheet music for solo pieces. The idea of performing solo in front of the class intimidated Shinji, but the performance two weeks away counted for a third of the quarter's grade. He wasn't in the mood to launch an extensive search for some unknown piece to impress his instructor, so he just settled on an arrangement of Bach's cello suite no. 1 and began sight reading.<p>

"Never heard you before. You play well." Shinji spun to see Rei standing behind his chair, wearing a black leotard over white leggings. She was barefoot, but held a pair of point shoes in her right hand. "We need to talk. Come on."

"Uh, I- I'm in class..." he stuttered.

"But not doing anything. No one will notice. Come."

Shinji sighed and gave in. He quickly packed up his cello and followed her down the hallway, until they stopped outside the faculty bathrooms. "Um..." Shinji wanted to protest, but Rei had already opened the door and beckoned for him to follow. He sighed and walked in after her, closing and locking the door behind them. "So..." he began, when Rei made no move to start conversation, "how are you out of class. I mean, won't they wonder where you went? Your teacher and everyone I mean? You're still in your dance clothes and everything-"

"Broke a finger." Rei held up her left hand, the ring finger bent back too far to be natural.

"I- what?" Shinji stared at her for a second. Like always, no emotion was present on her face. "Oh my gosh... you need to go to the nurse! Why are you-?"

"Slammed it in the door. So I could get out of class, without suspicion. Talk to you." She let her shoes drop as she gripped her finger and snapped the joint back into place with a loud crack. Shinji flinched. "It won't affect my dancing."

Shinji looked at her in horror. Didn't she feel pain? Before the last Angel battle, she was shaking in agony... Shinji did not want to think about just what it would take to provoke that reaction from Rei. He was nervous about their coming talk, to say the least. "What did you want to talk about?"

Rei tilted her head a little to the side, surveying Shinji's slightly worried expression, his nervous breathing. "You told him. About us."

Neither of the two made the smallest motion or sound as Shini's mind fumbled for a suitable reply. "I..." What would she want to hear? Should he lie? Certainly she would know. "I thought... that Alois could help us."

"Really."

"Yeah, I mean, he-" He yelped as Rei grabbed his shoulders and pinned him to the wall. The back of his head hit the tiles with a dull thunk, and he felt the blood in his head begin to throb.

"We told you not to. Why did you tell him?"

"I-" Shinji's brain couldn't form a coherent response. Here was Rei, the quiet, petite ballerina, physically _threatening_ him, scaring him and it _wasn't right._

"Why?" Her warm red eyes flashed dangerously as her nails dug into him. "Kaworu warned you."

"Because he's my _friend!_"

Rei took a step back, releasing him, and watched as he slumped to his knees. "You weren't supposed to have friends..." Her typical monotone broke, and her voice sounded regretful, melancholy. "Not _real_ friends. Who could change things."

Shinji tried to pull himself together, sort out her words. "What... what do you mean?" He started to edge away as she approached him again and sat down beside him on the tile floor.

"Supposed to be one of us. We messed up, I guess." Eyes downcast, she grabbed her knees and tucked them into her chest. "I messed up. Might as well be replaced."

"Well, you're not as useless as I am." Rei looked up and met his gaze, her eyes slightly widened in rare surprise. Shinji continued, "_You_ saved me and Kaworu from the last Angel. You're a prima ballerina, too, and that's great. What am I? Nothing. Second-rate cello, _third_-rate fighter... You're so much better than me. No one would believe we were friends, if I told them."

"...Friends?"

Shinji was shocked to see Rei beginning to blush, some faint color tinting her pale cheeks. This, of course, provoked a similar reaction in him. "W-we are friends, right?"

Her blush, that tiny flicker of emotion, was only a preview of what Rei was capable of showing. "Friends..." she whispered. Her facial muscles seemed to relax, and her empty gaze grew focused, focused on Shinji. And then, she _smiled. _"Maybe."

The sight was beautiful. Shinji felt his defenses break down and any fear or discomfort he had around Rei vanished. All he wanted was to look at her and stretch out the moment for as long as time would allow.

"So..." began Shinji, breaking the reverie after he thought it would be impolite to stare longer, "I... I want to bring Alois with us. At the next battle, I mean... He already agreed."

The smile was gone, but Rei's expression wasn't emotionless, it was practically deadly. Shinji instantly regretted his words and started to panic.

There was a knocking on the door, and a man's voice called out to them. "Is there anyone in here?"

Shinji had to say something. "Um, yes?"

"Oh, Ikari, is that you? Use the _student_ restrooms, kid."

"I-I-"

There was a laugh from beyond the door. "It's Dean Ryogi. You stood up Miss Katsuragi last night, didn't you? Had to force her out of my office after a while."

He'd forgotten about that. "Sorry, Sir."

There was no reply. Shinji and Rei waited for a few minutes before leaving, and were relieved to see no one was in the hall to spot them. "Did you tell 'Miss Katuragi' about us too?" asked Rei, her voice cold.

"N-no!" Shinji desperately wanted the previous mood back, when she smiled so prettily...

"Fine. Bring Alois, Langley, that woman, whoever you want when we fight. You'll see what happens. Why we warned you." She slammed the door behind her as she exited, leaving Shinji stuttering nervously behind her. "_You will fail,_" she called back to him.

Shinji was beginning to regret trusting his friends.

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><p><strong>End Notes: <strong>Urgh, I _really_ don't like how this chapter turned out. It just seems boring to me, and I'm the writer! So anyway, I apologize A LOT for this, but it's kind of necessary to have it here.

I hope you're enjoying the story so far. We're nearing the end of the first section of Eva: RoS; the prologue, if you will. Two more chapters and this first introductory/set-up bit will be over, and the _real_ trippy, fun plot can start...

Reviews are always loved, whatever they say. I reply to everything, so feel free to ask questions about anything, too! Special thanks to japaneserockergirl, whose reviews are always great to get.


	14. What Have You Done, Shinji?

Chapter Fourteen _What Have You Done, Shinji?_

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><p><strong><em>Note:<em>**_ This chapter contains an angel attack, which means a soundtrack. You will enjoy reading this **much** more if you play the first movement of Dvorak's New World Symphony, particularly this recording _(www..youtube..com/watch?v=J8bAR7j9a3A). _Start playing it when they enter the Angel world; there will be a cue at the right point.._

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><p>A week passed. Nothing much happened in seven days... and that's exactly what worried Shinji. Nothing happened. Kaworu avoided speaking or even making eye contact with him in class, let alone invite Shinji to eat lunch with him and Rei in the secret white room in the theater. Rei. He hadn't seen her at all, not since their argument. Alois tried to behave like he normally did, and mostly succeeded, but around Shinji his cheerful personality seemed a little overdone, a little fake. As long as he still didn't believe him, Shinji couldn't bear to be around Alois too much; he could only imagine the thoughts racing through his head, the criticisms and fears.<p>

And that's why, for the past week, Shinji spent his free periods with Asuka Langley, who assumed his spiel about the Angels was just created to tease her. She sat across from him at the outdoor table, picking at the dark polish on her fingernails.

"So," she began, not looking up, "When are you gonna make your move?"

"Uh- what?" Shinji was cramming for his science test, was she somehow talking about that?

Asuka straightened up and began loosening the top two buttons of her uniform. "Don't play dumb. You like me. It's the only reason you're here." She tossed her thick red hair away from her chest and back over her shoulder. Her severe, ocean-color gaze met Shinji's, and she smirked.

Shinji decided to ignore her and resumed his studying. Asuka giggled.

"You _are_ a boy; I know what you want." She paused, waiting for a response from him. There was none. "Oh, _come on!_ You can't tell me you're ignoring me to study for some lame-ass science test!" Shinji simply nodded. "Hmph. Fine then." She sat back, crossing her arms.

A few minutes passed, and Asuka couldn't stand the silence any longer. "You know, I could probably have any boy in this school I wanted." Shinji didn't doubt it. "But they're all immature little freaks. It sucks."

Shinji really was doing the best he could to keep his mind focused on thermal expansion. Really. He resolved to avoid giving her any encouragement to continue.

"...I really want a man who's more _mature_, more intelligent, chivalrous... _older_, maybe..."

Shinji sensed the conversation would only continue to grow more inappropriate until lunch was over. At the very least, he supposed getting through the free period would test his willpower... He stiffened as Asuka's slim leg rubbed against his under the table.

"Of course, until someone like _that_ notices me I'll need a substitute, right, Shin-? _Hey!_"

He couldn't take this. Shinji grabbed his books and made a hasty retreat. He heard Asuka yelling at him. "_Fine,_ then! Ignore what you_ really_ want! _Feiger hund!_" Shinji assumed her German wasn't complimenting him. "You're only cute when you're crying, anyway!"

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><p>He was walking aimlessly around the campus, looking for a decent spot to sit and study when he felt something strange course through his body. Shinji shivered, subconsciously trying to push the foreign presence away. He failed.<p>

**Ramiel is here. The music dorm garden.**

And suddenly, it was gone, the message having been delivered. "Ramiel," he murmured. Realization hit, and he ran back towards the cafeteria to find Alois. It was time to face the Angel.

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><p><em>(music start)<em>

* * *

><p>A few minutes later Shinji found himself stumbling across the deck of a weathered wooden ship floating in a sea of air, dodging deftly between the peaks of the tallest of the golden mountains beneath. Kaworu was manning the sails; gigantic, heavy curtains a light tan on one side and crimson on the other, manipulated by thick chains punched through the corners. Rei stood at the bow like a fine marble figurehead, scanning the horizon around her for the Angel. Shinji heaved a sigh of relief as he turned and saw Alois safely on the ship. He had fallen to his knees, mouth agape, but he was there. And now he would believe him.<p>

He rushed over to his friend and helped him to his feet. "We're here," Shinji whispered, "This is real, don't you see?"

"...real..." Alois stuttered for a few seconds, unable to release the words. At that moment Shinji looked at the other boy's face and saw for the first time an image he knew would haunt him. Blue eyes round with fear, skin like ivory without the pulsing of blood, parted lips unable to speak... it was a face marked with painful, racing terror. And Shinji had brought it upon his closest friend.

Kaworu swerved the boat away from the glistening dagger edge of one of the formations around the boat, and the two other boys were sent flying into the lowest sail. Shinji recoiled as he felt a thick stickiness and the smell of death overwhelmed him. He noticed some of the red pigment remained stuck to his arm after he pulled Alois away.

"Be careful!" called Kaworu, "Do not damage them!"

"What the hell is it?" The sails felt wrong, like meat-

"Skin," answered Kaworu, "But ignore it! We must find-"

At the bow, Rei pointed an arm out to her left. "The Angel!" It was true; there was _something_ in the distance, a globe of swirling darkness with a red eye in its center, floating above a shadow that showed the sillouette of an entirely different creature.

Kaworu decided the Angel was close enough for the fight to begin. "The core is inside the eye, but that shadow below will destroy you if you touch it! You better protect your little friend, too... If he gets in trouble, I will not stop fighting to save him."

"But I-"

"_We warned you._"

Thus the fight began. Rei climbed the central mast and flew among the sails like a swan, her bladed fans barely skimming Ramiel's sides to drive it to Kaworu, who stood waiting in the crow's nest with sword in hand for the perfect opportunity. The Angel was huge up close, its size only matched by its nightmarish features.

"Shinji..." whimpered Alois, "Sh-Shinji... Why... why did...?" The boy was visibly trembling. Shinji couldn't stand to watch. It was his fault. He did this; Alois didn't believe the Angel Worlds existed and had no idea what he was getting into. Shinji had no idea what to do, so he just remained frozen in place as the Angel and its fiery eye grew closer, sending tendrils of shadows snaking onto their ship. Even as he watched his friend collapse and curl into the fetal position, he didn't respond.

_I'm so selfish_... Shinji thought. The sky darkened overhead as the above battle raged on, but that didn't matter. He needed to make everything better, to protect his best friend from the shadow descending over the ship.

He walked over and knelt beside the blond boy, carefully placing a hand on his shaking shoulder. "I'm sorry..." he murmured, "I just wanted to have someone who could help me..." Alois didn't react, so Shinji continued. "I haven't... well, since my mother died, I've never met someone who liked me or stood by me without a reason. I'm sorry." It was the truth. He needed _somebody;_ he couldn't take lies, secrecy, or indifference any longer.

His trembling stopped, and Alois turned to meet Shinji's gaze. "I..." He tried desperately to gather his wits.

"Yes?" Was he forgiven? Shinji had hope, he could have a true friend, somebody close to confide him and stay by his side. Something... that he had never had before.

"...I hate you for this."

Shinji felt like a part of him died on the inside. That wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to reconcile and join the battle at the last possible second to save the day and then return to school as each other's secret keepers... that was what always happened. Except... it didn't. and Shinji's musings served no purpose, no purpose except distracting him and taking his spirit from the battlefield as the ship's deck turned suddenly black.

"_Shinji!_" shouted Rei as she dove down toward him, knocking him off the deck. In less than a second they were hanging onto the ship's wildly swirling rudder for their lives.

"_What did you do that for?_" Shinji yelled, bewildered by the action.

Lightning arced from the deck above. "Saved you! From the shadow!"

A terrifying realization gripped onto Shinji. "Alois..."

Rei shook her head violently. "Can't go back. Better him than you."

"No, _please_ no..." There was a loud clash of metal from above. Something was happening between Kaworu and the Angel; their battle had evolved. Of course, Shinji and Rei could see nothing from below the ship's hull, and they could only imagine what their fellow Warrior of Light was facing. Somehow, though, Shinji got the feeling that Rei wasn't overly worried about Kaworu; she wasn't looking around nervously, her eyes were normal and blank, not widened in concern or panic. _And yet..._ Shinji thought, _when she jumped down to save me..._

His thoughts were interrupted as a flash of inspiration struck. "C-can I see your fans?" he asked, not waiting for a reply before grabbing them.

"What-?"

Shinji jammed one of the fans into the wood. He _needed _to get back and help Kaworu and Alois, and if that meant climbing the side of the ship, so be it. "I mustn't run away," he muttered, "I mustn't run away... I mustn't run away... _I mustn't run away!_"

The climb was arduous, yes. Many times he was certain he would fall and be impaled on the golden spikes below, but this mess was his fault. He _had _to deal with it, because he was the guilty one. If there was one thing his father taught him, it was that he was always the guilty one and needed to take responsibility. Back then he never did, but now he had a reason to. He was almost over the ship's railing. He could pull himself over easily to see what was happening.

The first think he noticed was that, thank God, there was no more shadow on the deck. He saw Alois wasn't moving, but he didn't look outwardly harmed. The sky was growing lighter, too, he noticed, and the Angels' strange orange blood was flowing from Ramiel and dripping from Kaworu's sword. the silver-haired boy stood balanced precariously on one of the chains that connected two of the masts, and he too looked relatively unharmed.

Shinji jumped the railing and ran towards Alois, but his own conflicting feelings stopped him. He liked Alois. If something was wrong he wanted to help. But Alois... said he hated him. He wouldn't be able to look him in the eye. If something really was wrong, however... He gave in to his more compassionate half and bounded to his friend's side.

"Alois..." the boy was breathing, but he didn't seem to register Shinji's presence. Tears and sweat covered his body, but at least he was alive, and that counted for something. Suddenly a rain of orange liquid fell over them, and there was a loud thud as the Angel fell and landed on the deck. "We did it," Shinji whispered, awed.

"Shinji, could you dig around for the Angel Seed while I go help Rei?" asked Kaworu as he cleaned his sword on the sails.

Shinji glanced at Alois again, still unconscious though physically unharmed, and then turned his attention to Ramiel's corpse, rolling up his sleeves. The flesh was soft enough for him to simply reach into with some effort; the Angels decomposed very rapidly. The squelching sounds he heard as he dug around for the tiny black sphere unnerved him, but he didn't want to disappoint Kaworu. After directly disobeying he orders as a warrior, he needed to do all he could to make it up to them. He couldn't drive away people who were kind to him, people who maybe cared if he existed, even a little. It would be far too painful to lose anybody; Shinji knew it would destroy him if he lost someone dear once again.

His fingers brushed against something small and marble-like. He gripped it and yanked it out, revealing a seed much smaller than usual. Still, it was the definite sign of their victory. Shinji heard a small grunt of effort and noticed that Rei and Kaworu had climbed back to the deck. He offered Kaworu the seed. "I'm... sorry," he admitted, "for ignoring your warnings. And not being any use. Sorry." He didn't even help fight. He didn't do anything. It was all Kaworu, the picture of heroics in his princely battle costume with his glistening sword. Shinji couldn't hold a candle to that. He would always be useless, worthless in comparison as long as people like that existed in the world. Kaworu smiled at him in response. "Do not worry. I have already forgiven you. Especially... given the circumstances, I think you will have to go through far worse than you deserve."

Shinji blinked a few times in confusion, trying to register the other's words. "... W-what? But... we won... everyone's fine, and-" He was interrupted by an earsplitting scream. He spun to see Alois convulsing, streams of shadow leaking out from his body and pooling around him. "_Alois!_"

"Mental contamination," explained Kaworu, "a psychic attack."

The other boy's guttural screams of pain and terror continued to ring out over the ship, a sound more terrible and soul-crushing than any horror movie could hope to convey. "I don't care what the fuck it is!" Shinji yelled, "_Do_ something!"

Alois tried to hide his face with his hand, shielding himself from an invisible enemy. Not that it did much good; he couldn't stop the pain from inside him no matter what. "_No!_" he screamed, "Get out of me! _Get out of me! No!_" The shadow had entered his mind, his body, his soul. It had stretched out time for him and targeted everything that was sensitive, amplifying the pain tenfold when it discovered all his weaknesses, both physical and mental. He couldn't form words anymore; he couldn't _think_ of them.

Rei simply shook her head. "Nothing we can do now." A deep rumble could be heard below the high screeching, and the golden mountains below the ship began to crack and shatter. "World's dying. We need to go."

"This is all my fault! _I can't leave him!_" _My fault_, Shinji thought, _My- I- I mustn't... I mustn't... I... mustn't r-run-_

The ship's bow crumbled off, and a strong shudder of the wood almost made them fall. "We leave _now!_" Kaworu shouted. He ran over the grab Alois, who struggled all he could against him."Open the barrier!"

Rei complied, and a blinding, swirling light ripped open a gap in the fabric of the universe. They were just barely able to make it through as the ship's deck collapsed beneath them and the world ended.

* * *

><p><strong>End notes: <strong>This chapter didn't include the last section it was supposed to have, so expect a mini-chapter very shortly to cover that. I happened to hear the New World Symphony on the radio a few days ago and was in awe at how perfectly it fit this battle; I originally used op. 20 (finale) from Swan Lake, but it didn't compare. If you didn't use the music on this chapter, you missed out. Thank you for reading; reviews, questions, and comments are always loved and appreciated.


	15. This Is Your Fault, Shinji

Chapter 15 _This Is Your Fault, Shinji._

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><p>"...We should kill him, Shinji," Kaworu insisted. He and Shinji stood in the hall outside the dorm room, doing their best to ignore the screaming and sobs from behind the door. Shinji sat with his back against the wall, resting his head on the knees tucked into his chest. His dead, glossed eyes showed no emotion, as if the Angel had stolen his spirit. The only reply he gave was a small shake of the head. "Shinji," Kaworu pleaded, "The pain will never go away. It will never be treatable. It is the only thing we can do to help."<p>

Simple denial was once again the only response. Shinji buried his head in his arms and curled up into a ball to hide from the world around him. A small part of him still clung onto the hope that nothing had happened, and if he hid long enough all his problems would just pass him by.

"_Damn it_, Shinji!" There was a loud thud, the sound of human flesh hitting the wall above Shinji's head. Kaworu's knuckles were white in his tightly clenched fist, and little dents were visible where his nails dug into his skin. "Do you think I am not worried?" he yelled, "Do you think this decision is not hurting me as much as it would _anyone else?_"

"I-I-"

"What do you think of me, Shinji?" Kaworu leaned over and shoved his hand under Shinji's chin, jerking the boy's gaze up to meet him. "Do you think that I am_ heartless_? That I _wanted_ this to happen?"

Shinji's lips parted, but he couldn't think of words. Not while those shining crimson eyes challenged him. His best- _only_- friend was suffering the worst pain imaginable, and yet those eyes held him captive. At that moment, he _hated_ Kaworu. "You..." he began, _You let this happen. _The words wouldn't come, because he knew in his heart that they weren't true. "We..." And that wasn't it either. Shinji's mind spun desperately for the right answer, but his own psyche was protecting him by keeping it hidden, and the words always escaped his grasp.

Suddenly the burning eyes softened, turning from flames back to rubies as the anger faded into guilt. "...Sorry," murmured Kaworu, "I got angry. I'm sorry..." He lowered himself and collapsed limp into Shinji's side. Shinji had no clue how he was supposed to react. The boy next to him was defeated, lacking grace, poise, confident self-control... This boy was not Kaworu. Not the one he knew.

The noise from inside had died down; maybe Alois had fallen unconscious, maybe Rei had helped him cope with the pain. The sudden silence relieved a bit of worry, but it wasn't enough to comfort Shinji at all. He could feel Kaworu's body against him, his ragged, uneven breathing against his neck, and a slight sensation of... wetness. Shinji pushed himself away, startled, until he took a second look and saw that Kaworu was _crying. _It wasn't the crying from movies that left glistening trails down the character's cheeks; it was the puffy-eyed, runny-nosed, quivering crying of someone who was desperately trying not to. "K-Kaworu?"

"It- it was a lie." The silver-haired boy hiccuped for air, and the last bit of control that held back the sobs broke. "I-I've been lying."

Shinji awkwardly put his hand on the boy's shoulder in a tentative attempt at comfort. "What was a lie?"

"Everything. Just... everything. You- you don't know me. This is me."

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I've seen an Angel I- I wanted to run away screaming. Hide. Get away. And- and then after we won, I wanted to lock myself in my room and never come out, okay? _I'm not emotionless!_ The... formal... classy, brave Kaworu... doesn't... exist. Sorry."

Shinji was completely bewildered. "But, why? Why would you-"

"_I did it for you!_ The- the Eva told me to, said you would expect it, _want_ it! So I played a c-character..." Kaworu felt so pitiful; Shinji was supposed to look up to him, and yet there he was, sobbing on the floor of the music dorm. It was good all the students were still at lunch, unaware of the fiasco happening across campus.

The dorm door flew open, ramming Shinji in the back. "In here!" Rei exclaimed, "Now!"

* * *

><p>"<em>Fuck!" <em>What happened while he was outside with Kaworu? "No! No, no, _no!_"

Alois lay on his bed panting, a group of large rips in his neck gushing blood onto the white sheets. "I'm- sorry," he rasped, struggling to force the air past his vocal chords. His eyes were watery and drooped half-closed. "It hurt a lot..."

Shinji ran to his side immediately and reached over to cup the blond boy's quivering hands in his. There was blood and pink flesh wedged under the nails of his right hand, the hand where longer nails could grow and not impair his viola skills. "Did... did you-?"

"I- I can't take it,_ I can't!_" A spasm rocked his body, and he couldn't stifle another whimper of pain.

Shinji looked away; he just couldn't watch it. He couldn't watch the consequences of his actions. And besides, those words from the Angel World still followed him... "It's... It's alright to hate me for this, Alois. This was my fault, and now-"

"I can't hate you."

It took all Shinji's courage to look at his friend again, to see the running tracks of fluid from his eyes and nostrils, and the bloodless white skin. But there was something else, too; a half-smile somewhat twisted by a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"I... could never hate you. Because we're friends... right?"

"Alois... Alois, don't, I _want_ you to hate me. It's all my fault, I need to be punished, I need... Alois? Alois?" There was no sudden chill, no light fading from his eyes, no dramatic fall of his hand. "_Alois_? Please answer..." Shinji shook his shoulder. "Hey, Alois..."

Rei reached over from the other side of the bed and closed the corpse's eyes.

* * *

><p>The three teens retreated to the hallway once again; none of them could discuss what needed to be discussed in the same room where what had just happened... happened.<p>

"We-" began Kaworu, but he froze as he realized the impact of what he was about to say. After a deep breath to calm his racing thoughts, he tried again. "We need to hide the body."

Rei sat cross-legged on the floor, tracing patterns in the carpet. She said nothing. Shinji just stared blankly back at Kaworu.

"I said, we-"

"Kaworu, why can't I cry?" Shinji interrupted, an edge of panic tinting his voice. "He was my best friend... but my eyes are dry. _Why am I not crying for him?_"

Kaworu chose his words carefully before answering. "Maybe it's the shock. When the idea really hits... then you'll cry. It's okay, it's normal-"

"But what if I'm not crying because _I lied?_ What if I never thought of him as a friend? What if he didn't matter to me? Really? _Why can't I cry?_" His eyes were wide, pupils shrunken, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

"Shinji! Snap out of it!"

The boy shook his head a few times to clear his mind. "I'm sorry. I'm just... the body. Yeah. I'll call the police."

"No," murmured Rei, "We can't. They'll think it's us. We disappeared with him, half an hour later he's dead. We're all in the room together. Won't work."

Shinji understood where she was coming from, but disagreed. "But they'll see it's suicide. His... his fingers, and his throat..."

Kaworu shook his head. "Even worse. Who'd commit suicide that way? So painfully? And someone as... happy, all the time... as Alois, with lots of friends? No. They'd assume that one of us did it and tried to hide it. So... so we have to make it look like he went missing. Is still alive."

"I read about this once," said Rei, "Six hours. Until the body gets stiff. Got to hurry."

"If we buried him surely someone would find him in the search... maybe we could cut him-?"

"_No!_" yelled Shinji, "He... he needs a funeral! With... with an open casket. Wearing new clothes, where people can see him one last time. And... and white lilies..." His mind drifted back, years into his past. His mother's funeral had white lilies. It was beautiful. But the coffin was nailed shut to prevent anyone, especially him, from seeing the body torn apart by the train's wheels. Shinji knew this, but he wanted to see her. He had always wanted to see her one last time.

"Shinji, we can't! We'll get sent to _prison_, okay? And then we won't be able to fight the Angels and stop the Rite of Spring..." Kaworu's voice trailed off. He'd said something he shouldn't have, but there was no rewind button in life. Luckily, Shinji didn't seem to notice; he stayed silent, lost in thought over something.

An idea occurred to Rei. "We could leave the body in an Angel World. When we fight the next one and it collapses." She frowned. "But that's in six days."

"Maybe," Kaworu ventured, "If we could... refrigerate... it... him..." He felt a thick lump of fear and dread rise in his throat, blocking his air. "God, _I can't do this!_"

"There's a mini-fridge in the girl's dance room. No one uses it. Could take it to base and-"

"_Rei!_" the crimson-eyed boy yelled, "How could you even _think_ of that? Don't you feel _anything?_ Shinji's devastated, I'm scared, _I'm really fucking scared_, and how are you... in character? _Still!_"

Rei's face remained a blank slate. She cleared her throat. "The mini-fridge. I go drag it up into our base. You and Shinji wrap the body in the bloody sheets and carry it up. Before he gets stiff. Shinji tells the Deans he's missing. And then... we keep him. Until Gaghiel arrives. And then we leave it in Angel World. No more problem."

Shinji sighed, closing his eyes. "We have to, don't we? I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I did this. I didn't listen. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm-"

"Stop it, Shinji!" commanded Kaworu, "You can't fix everything by apologizing. We _all_ should have known better. He's gone now, and Rei's right. We'll do what she said, is that okay with you?" Shinji did his best to swallow his feelings and nodded, gritting his teeth. "We should hurry to finish before lunch ends. People could see, and it'll look suspicious if we're late. We'll... we'll meet you at base, Rei."

He grabbed Shinji's hand and gently led him back into the dorm. They walked as quietly as they could to the side of the bed, as if making the slightest noise would disturb Alois's sleep. However, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't imagine he was simply sleeping, not the way he lay, not with the blood and uncomfortable emptiness that hung in the air. Shinji looked at his friend's face for the last time before they wrapped him up in the soaked sheets and shoved the corpse into an undignified black trash bag, along with their hopes, ideals, and morals. Shinji never thought a trash bag could hold so many precious, broken things.

* * *

><p><strong>End Notes:<strong> This... was hard to write. It really was. I don't think I did any of the feelings and emotions justice, but I tried. Consider this the end of Part One of Evangelion: The Rite of Spring.

Here (on my DeviantArt) is a fanart of Shinji and Alois which I did before I really knew for sure what would happen. (phantomkino..deviantart..com/#/d3oe0mp) A look at that would be appreciated, as well as any reviews, questions, or comments for this story.

Thank you for reading.


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